Tomb Raider
by Pixie Dawn
Summary: Hidden behind legends and myth, lies an ancient force in wait. When this force is threatened, two of the best tomb raiders in the world are reluctantly thrown together to save a disaster from happening. Based on TOMB RAIDER. M Rated. E/B.
1. Prologue

**AN at the bottom. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. Stephenie Meyer does. I just play around with her characters. No copyright infringement intended. I also don't own Tomb Raider. **

**Important note: _Tomb Raider_is an adopted rewrite to the story _Bella Swan: Tomb Raider. Next Generation._The original writer of this story encountered a lot of drama in the fandom and quit FF, leaving her stories abandoned. After I found it and expressed interest in it, she was gracious enough to let me adopt it and gave me the chance to rewrite it and give my own twists to the story. I thank her for this opportunity. All credit for the story idea goes to her.**

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><p>The clickity-clack of high heels on stone floors resonated throughout the impressive entry hall of the building. The receptionist smiled at the woman approaching her in a polite way, but on the inside she couldn't help but feel intimidated.<p>

The woman looked immaculately perfect. Her long brown hair was braided down her back in a neat French braid. Her eyes were hidden behind a pair of Ray-Ban's. Her body was clad in a loose-fitting blouse, with just a hint of cleavage, and tucked into a stunning, expensive looking pencil skirt that fell just on top of the knees. And on her feet, high heeled black pumps. The receptionist instantly felt fat, ugly and little.

In the woman's hand was a generic silver suitcase.

"Can I help you?" the receptionist asked a little shakily.

The woman smiled at her and took off her sunglasses, revealing sparkling brown eyes. "Could you tell Dr. Harrold that Lady Isabella Swan is here?"

"O-of course," the receptionist stammered, picking up the phone and calling to the penthouse office.

A few seconds later, she directed Lady Swan through to the elevators. Lady Swan smiled at her, put her glasses back on and the clickity-clack of her heels resumed along the hall. She stepped into the elevator and shot the receptionist one last small smile before the doors slid closed.

Just as the cart started moving up, four heavily armed men stepped into the entry hall of the building. The receptionist gasped, reaching for the emergency button under her desk but found herself staring up the barrel of a gun.

"Please don't hurt me," she begged.

"Don't talk," the leader of the group ordered. "Get on the floor and don't move."

He turned to one of his men and ordered him to stay with her, to make sure she wouldn't set off any alarms.

The three remaining men sprinted towards the door that led towards the stairs. At the same time, Lady Swan, in the elevator, took out her phone and dialled her companions, who were waiting for her outside in the car.

"And?" she asked. On the other side of the line, Jasper Hale answered.

"Four of them, armed."

"Thank you, Jasper," she replied, hanging up and putting the briefcase down on the ground. Inside the briefcase were papers for Dr. Harrold but most importantly, her two beloved Colt handguns. She took them out, loaded them and took the safety off.

Standing up, she pushed the button for the next floor and kicked the briefcase into the corner of the elevator. Waiting for the cart to stop moving and the doors to slide open, she let the adrenaline of the upcoming fight flood her body.

Fighting came with her lifestyle as a tomb raider. She found the most obscure mythical and historical places. Treasures too vast to comprehend. Too valuable for any criminal organisation to ignore.

A few days ago she had returned from Egypt. There she had found the site where Alexander the Great declared himself the Never-dying Pharao of Egypt, Amun's son, a deity. This find was so great that museums and scholars all over the world were in a frenzy to get their hands on the location.

Lady Swan and her team were the only ones that actually had the location. She was here to meet with one of Britain's leading Egyptologists. She had expected trouble and the organisation that had been following her ever since she returned, did not disappoint.

The doors slid open and she casually walked out towards the door of the stairwell. Putting her ear against the door, she heard the heavy boots of the men coming up the concrete steps. She smirked briefly and threw open the door, aiming her guns at the first of the men and opening fire.

Within the first second, he fell backwards. The force of the bullets hitting his Kevlar covered chest overpowered him and he took one of his companions down in his fall. As they tumbled down the stairs, limbs tangled together and foul words spilling from their lips, the leader of the team opened fire on Lady Swan. She ducked away, narrowly missing the flying bullets.

She came back up, firing off two rounds but the leader was fast and he fell flat on his stomach, onto the steps. The two bullets hit the wall right where his head was supposed to be.

"Is this any way to treat a lady?" Lady Swan cooed, firing off another shot. This time she hit the barrel of the leader's exposed rifle. It skidded away from him, down the stairs. With a grunt, he got up, glowering at his much smaller enemy.

She smiled at him, rotating her guns in her hands and she tossed them down. They hit the floor with sharp clatters. She kicked off her high heels and held up her fists in a fighting position.

"If you're going to fight me," she said with a grin. "At least fight like a man."

The leader launched himself forward, making a grab for her arm. She took advantage of the fact that he was leaning towards her and quickly jabbed her elbow in his ribcage. As he grunted, she grabbed his arm and twisted him around. Pushing him against the wall, she brought her knee forcefully to his knees, making him buckle. However, he recovered quickly and thrust his head back. The back of his head hit her in the face and she stumbled backwards.

She felt a large arm encircle her neck from behind. One of the men who had fallen down the stairs had recovered and had her in a choke hold. She groaned, unable to take a breath of air and brought her hands up to his face. With her thumbs, she quickly sought out his eyes and pushed them in. The man shrieked in pain, loosening his hold on her, and she was able to struggle free. She turned on him, kneeing him roughly between the legs. During his fall forward, she took advantage of his position and punched him in the face in an upward move. This made him fall backwards and, with a round kick to his chest, she kicked him back down the stairs.

As she turned back to the leader of the men, she felt the cold metal of one of her own guns against her temple. Out of the corner of her eye, she looked past the silver weapon and at the man.

"That's just plain rude," she taunted. The leader grabbed her long braid and pulled her towards him. He turned her body away from him and roughly pushed her against the wall.

"It's over, Swan," he panted, pulling her head back marginally and banging her cheekbone into the concrete wall. She grunted in pain. "Give me the briefcase."

"What briefcase?" she said with a breathless chuckle. "Look around you, do you _see_a briefcase?"

He pushed her face against the wall again, making her hiss.

"Quit joking around, bitch. Where is it?"

She smirked when she saw a tall, blonde man coming up in her peripheral vision. He oozed calm as he sneaked up behind the leader and placed the barrel of his shotgun to the back of his head.

"On your knees," Jasper said calmly, almost as though it was a suggestion instead a demand.

The leader cussed, realizing his defeat. With a grunt, he let go of her and sank down on his knees. Glaring up at her, he revealed himself to be a very poor loser.

"Where's Rose?" she asked Jasper. Rose was Lady Swan's other teammate and Jasper's twin.

"Handling the fourth dickwad downstairs," he answered with a grin.

"Lady Swan," the leader called out from his kneeling position. "This isn't over."

She chuckled, leaning forward to snatch up her guns from the floor. "Tell your boss..." she whispered in his ear, "...to bring it on."

With that said, she hit him in the temple with the back of her gun, knocking him unconscious.

Jasper laughed at her and handed over her shoes. She slipped them on and straightened her clothes and hair. Jasper stepped over the man's limp body and held the door open for her. They stepped through it and walked over to the elevators.

Lady Swan stepped into the elevator that still held the briefcase, just as Jasper stepped into a different elevator to go back downstairs. She picked back up the briefcase and resumed her way upstairs to Dr. Harrold's office.

She had business to attend to.

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><p><strong>AN. Thanks for reading. This is my very first story so please don't be too harsh. Lol. This prologue was very short, the other chapters will be much longer. <strong>

**Special thanks to Smmiskimen for betaing this story. She's amazing. Check out her profile and her work. **

**Also special thanks to the ladies at An Alternative Universe of Fanfiction Recommendations over at Facebook for their support. Without them, I probably wouldn't have the courage to adopt this story. **

**See ya! **


	2. Chapter 1

**AN at the bottom. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. Stephenie Meyer does. I just play around with her characters. No copyright infringement intended. I also don't own Tomb Raider. **

**Important note: _Tomb Raider_is an adopted rewrite to the story _Bella Swan: Tomb Raider. Next Generation._The original writer of this story encountered a lot of drama in the fandom and quit FF, leaving her stories abandoned. After I found it and expressed interest in it, she was gracious enough to let me adopt it and gave me the chance to rewrite it and give my own twists to the story. I thank her for this opportunity. All credit for the story idea goes to her.**

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><p>Swan Manor was an impressive estate. Surrounded by twenty-seven and a half acres of lush forest ground and even a private lake; the house stood in complete privacy from the rest of the world.<p>

The house itself was incredibly large. Eighty bedrooms, each with their own bathroom, a library, a computer lab, an indoor pool, large training room, a simulation room, and a garage large enough to house Lady Swan's impressive car – and weapons – collections. At the back of the house, was a shooting range and a second, outdoor pool.

Out of the many properties her family owned; Lady Swan, or Bella as she was lovingly nicknamed by her friends and family, considered this one to be her home. It had been her father's favourite, even though her mother had had little love for it.

Her father was Lord Charles Swan, renowned as an archaeologist and revered, feared even, as a tomb raider. It was him that taught her everything she knew, him that raised her to be a tomb raider.

Her mother had been vastly different. She preferred a quiet life, tending after her roses in the yard, keeping her home and raising her child in as much love and innocence as possible. But life was unfair, even for Lord Charles and Lady Renée Swan and their daughter.

When Bella was barely eighteen, her parents were murdered in their sleep. It had been a dark time. Lord Swan was working on a case for the FBI, tracking down the location of a unique and priceless manuscript before one of the largest criminal organisation of the world could get their hands on it. What the manuscript entitled, Bella didn't know, but it was important enough for the FBI to ensure that no one would ever find it again.

They burned the manuscript and killed the only person who had ever laid eyes on it. Lord Swan. Bella's mother had been collateral damage. It was her parents' murder that fuelled Bella's fire to fight day-by-day.

Bella's bedroom consisted of three circular, separate areas all connected by one circular main section. The room was decorated with soft furniture and earthy colors. Along the back walls were long, arched windows with stained glass. In her sleeping area stood a large oak poster bed. Along the wall, several TV monitors were mounted. They functioned as both security monitors as well as regular TV's.

Bella slowly woke up as the sun crept through the stained glass windows. She stepped out of bed and pulled on a robe over her sleep shirt. Stuffing her feet into a pair of soft house-slippers, she made her way out the door and into the corridor. She looked down onto the living room downstairs as she made her way towards the stairs.

She walked down the stairs and through the living room. Next to the computer lab was the large, cozy kitchen. Bella was greeted by a smiling Esme.

"Good morning, love," Esme said, getting up from her chair to get some coffee for Bella.

"Good morning," Bella replied.

Although Esme was only ten years older than Bella, she had an air of maternal love around her that made Bella automatically gravitate towards her. Esme was her parents' most trusted and beloved home keeper before they died. After their death, young as though she was, Esme stayed and picked up the pieces of Bella's broken heart.

Bella shuddered to think of how she would have turned out if it hadn't been for Esme.

Esme placed a mug of coffee in front of Bella, just as Rosalie stepped into the kitchen. Rose and Jasper were an entirely different story. Their mother died giving birth to them and their father, crushed by grief at the loss of his wife, turned to alcohol to deal.

As the twins grew older, their father grew more violent. Bella's mother was a volunteer at the children's hospital and when the twins were 9 years old, their father had beaten them within an inch of their lives.

The father was arrested and it was Bella's mother that convinced her husband to take them into their home. To lovingly nurse them back to health. He was easily swayed and Rosalie and Jasper became a part of their family instantly.

Bella smiled at Rose as she sat down and she was rewarded with a wicked scowl. Rosalie was a right bitch in the mornings; it amused Bella to no end.

"Sleep well, dearie?" Bella taunted.

"Bite me," she grumbled back, downing her coffee in one mighty pull.

Jasper soon joined them and the four ate their breakfast in quiet companionship. After they ate, Bella showered and got dressed in her full gear. She always trained in full gear. That meant her somewhat heavy combat boots, her guns and backpack with extra ammunition. This way she wouldn't be weighed down by the extra weight on a mission.

Her training started off with running. She ran the track her father made in the woods behind the house. It took her up and down small, steep hills, through small rivers and over rocks. She jumped over tree roots, dodged tripwires, ducked underneath overhanging branches and shot targets that came shooting out from behind the trees.

She was sweating by the time she had circled back to the house but her training was not done yet. Slipping back into inside, she went straight for the indoor pool. Once there, she took a running start and dove elegantly, fully dressed and armed, into the water. Her guns and backpack were waterproof.

Her boots were heavy in the water and she had to fight not to let their weight pull her down. This is how she liked to train, pushing herself to the edge. She was halfway through her fifth lap across the pool when Esme stepped into the pool room with a nervous smile.

"Bella, love," she called out. Bella responded by picking up her speed towards the edge of the pool and climbing out, dripping wet.

"Yes?" she asked, walking around Esme and getting a towel from a cabinet.

"You have visitors."

**~*TR*~ **

Edward Cullen was staring at the agent next to him in the driver's seat. He smirked as the agent fidgeted with the collar of his shirt the closer they got to their destination. Agent Barren was visibly nervous about meeting with Lady Swan and the thought entertained Edward something fierce.

Edward's home was in Chicago, Illinois. Agent Barren had approached Edward there with a case that instantly intrigued him. As a raider, it was cases like the one that Barren presented that made the job worth the dangers that came with it. Edward remembered how he had felt a rush of adrenaline reading about it.

But his excitement was dampened considerably after he had told the agent that he and his team would take the case. Barren was adamant that Edward teamed up with Lady Isabella Swan. Although Edward knew Lady Swan by reputation and respected her for it, he did _not _work with others. He had told Barren so, that he absolutely refused, but Barren had thrown it back in his face with the absolute worst thing you can do to an intrigued raider. He told Edward he would take the case to another raider if Edward wouldn't cooperate.

Instantly agitated, Edward looked out the window of the moving car and tapped his fingers on the door handle. He had met Lady Swan before in a brief moment. It was at an exhibition of ancient Asian weaponry at the Smithsonian Institute last year. She was a cripplingly beautiful woman, deceptively small and delicate. For the exhibition, she had worn a midnight blue satin off shoulder gown that hugged her body in all the right places. Edward had walked around with an uncomfortable problem in his trousers all night.

He looked at Barren again.

"What's got your panties in a bunch, B?" he said with a mocking grin.

"What? No, nothing," Barren responded with a suspiciously high voice. "I'm fine."

"Uh huh," Edward chuckled. "Liar."

"Shut up."

He grinned wider, gazing back out the window. England really was a beautiful country. The woods and hills were incredibly green and welcoming, with just the right amount of mystery to make Edward feel home. He certainly wouldn't mind if he had to live there for the rest of his days.

After another ten minutes of driving, Edward noticed a sleek black BMW behind their car. Looking at it suspiciously through the side view mirror, he realized that the car was following them. With a clenched jaw, Edward told Barren about it.

"That's Agent Coulter," Barren answered off-handedly.

"Agent Coulter," Edward responded suspiciously. He never knew about another agent involved and he didn't like it. Edward was known for his need to know every single thing about a case.

"Yeah," Barren whispered. "He's MI5. He's here to help us...erm...talk to Lady Swan."

With a raised eyebrow and a baffled chuckle, Edward gazed at Barren in disbelief.

"Are you really that fucking scared to talk to her?" His chuckle turned into a full blown laugh. "Oh man, this is too good. Big, bad FBI Agent Barren is scared to even _talk _to Lady Swan!"

"Shut up," Barren hissed, taking a barely visible exit from the road and slowing down as they came closer to a very large, very safe iron gateway. The BMW followed them down the exit and Edward had trouble keeping in his giggles as Barren got out and pushed the intercom button of the gate.

After Barren introduced himself to whomever it was that responded to the buzz, he came back to the car and took the wheel again, waiting for the large gates to open. Edward couldn't help but gape open-mouthed at the fucking _castle _that came into view as they drove down the pebbled drive way. Everything about the mansion just screamed wealth and history. He could easily see why a raider would love to live here.

Barren and Coulter parked their cars in front of the mansion and, with a deep breath, Barren got out of the car. Edward followed suit, with another chuckle and a shake of his head.

"Good morning, gentlemen," called a deep voice from the doorway. Edward looked over at the man and smiled at him, giving him a two-fingered wave. Walking up to him, he extended his hand and started to introduce himself.

"Edward Cullen," the man said with a chuckle. "I'm aware. We met at the Smithsonian last year."

"Oh," Edward said sheepishly.

"Well," the man said with a grin. "I believe you were too preoccupied with Lady Swan's bottom to notice anyone else."

Edward barked out a laugh, his ears tinting slightly red at the very tips. "I like you."

"Jasper," the man introduced himself, shaking Edward's hand. Edward smirked at him just as Agents Barren and Coulter came up to them.

Coulter was a short, broad man with a square shaped face and a goatee. The general vibe coming off him was that he had a short fuse and wasn't afraid to kick your ass if he felt the need to. Barren looked like a terrified child next to him. It was made worse by the fact that he had broken out in a sweat.

"Jasper," Edward said. "These are FBI Special Agent Barren and MI5 _something_Agent Coulter."

As he introduced them, Edward observed Jasper's reaction and was astounded to see real fury light up in his eyes at the mention of Barren. In return, Barren's face twisted into a sheepish, frightened mask.

"You should not be here," Jasper hissed, pointing directly at Barren. Edward tried to intervene but was ignored completely.

"Agent Coulter and I wish to talk to Lady Swan," Barren squeaked. "It's a matter of great importance."

Jasper's eyes narrowed. "Then I wish you the best of luck, Agent Barren, for Lady Swan will _not _be cordial to you. I can assure you of that."

Barren swallowed uncomfortably and nodded shakily to which Jasper turned, shooting Edward a small apologetic smile, and led the men into the house. Inside, the house was just as impressive as the outside but it was warmly decorated and it was obvious that it was kept by a loving hand. Jasper walked over to a shorter woman who looked to be in her thirties. She was beautiful and had a loving air around her. Jasper leaned into the woman and whispered in her ear.

The woman's eyes widened slightly, a sharp grimace crossing her face as she looked over at Edward and the agents. Edward was starting to really regret coming here with Barren.

"Gentlemen, please follow me to the office," Jasper said as the woman slipped away through one of the many doors that lined the living area.

Edward nodded, gesturing for Jasper to lead the way, which he did. They silently followed Jasper up a flight of stairs, to the right and down a long corridor.

"Nice crib," Edward said, hoping to alleviate the tension that swirled around like thick fog. It worked, briefly. Jasper grinned at him.

"Thank you. It's Lady's Swan pride and joy."

"I don't blame her."

Jasper led them through a door that revealed a large library. Mahogany bookcases lined all the walls, except for the back wall which was entirely made out of leaded windows. A huge desk stood in the middle of the room and there was a comfortable looking lounge set in the corner.

Jasper chose to seat the guests in front of the desk instead of the less formal lounge.

They had only just sat down when the door was swung open with force and a _v_ery wet and a _very _pissed off Lady Swan stepped inside. At first glance, Edward couldn't help but appreciate how she looked. In all honesty, he felt like kneeling in front of her and licking off every single droplet of water that was slowly dripping down her legs.

Shaking his head briefly, he watched as she stepped further into the room. Her one hand was pointing at Barren, the other hovering over her gun. The smirk on Edward's face slipped a little. He wasn't particularly fond of Barren but he wasn't going to allow Lady Swan to physically hurt him either.

"You," she hissed, shaking with absolute fury. "Get off my property!"

Edward could only guess as to why Lady Swan was so angry, but Barren had told him before that the relationship between the FBI and the Swan family was strained. Barren got up, holding his hands up in a disarming way.

"Lady Swan," he pleaded and Edward had to admire the man for keeping his voice while being stared down by what could possibly be the biggest ball buster in Europe. "I wouldn't have come here if it wasn't a matter of utmost importance."

Lady Swan narrowed her eyes at Barren, to which he dug a case file out of his briefcase and held it out for her. With a sharp tug, she pulled it out of his hand. Edward fidgeted a little. It was like Lady Swan had no idea he and Coulter were even in the room and it was something he wasn't used to.

As if he had read Edward's mind, Jasper leaned in and whispered: "Just give her a minute to calm down a little."

Tense silence filled the room as she read the file, her eyes zipping through the pages and narrowing at the pictures. Edward saw a familiar spark of excitement fill her eyes. It was the same spark he had.

She looked back at Barren, a little less cold but no less bitchy. For the first time, she looked around the room. Her eyes landed on Edward and spark of recognition passed through her mind.

"Edward Cullen," she said, walking over to him and extending her hand to shake his. He took it with a grin.

"Lady Swan," he said with a nod. "It's good to see you again."

"Yes," she agreed. "Though your company is less joyous to meet."

Edward chuckled a little, looking over her shoulder to Barren who looked like he could tip over from an aneurysm any moment.

"I'm curious what brings you here, though," she continued.

He took a breath. "The case, Lady Swan," he started but he was interrupted by her.

"Please," she said holding his hand up. "As a fellow raider, please call me Bella."

"Bella," Edward tried with a smirk and a tilt of his head. "Agent Barren here gave me the case."

Confusion marred her beautiful face and she walked around the desk – ignoring the agents – and sat down. "I ask again," she said. "Not that you're not welcome here, but why _are _you here."

It was Coulter that spoke up, his voice ringing loud and clear and full of authority.

"The case is of such importance that MI5 and the FBI feel strongly that it should be handled by the two best archaeologists in the world," he said. "We believe those two to be you and Mister Cullen."

Bella raised a perfect eyebrow. "No."

"See?" Edward told Barren. "I told you. Our kind doesn't work together."

Barren and Coulter looked at each other in a baffled moment. Edward took that moment to take the case file from Bella's desk and closed it.

"I'll take the case," he said, a little too cheery.

"What?" Bella called out, her voice getting close to a shriek. "No, I'll take it!"

"I don't think so, Princess," Edward chuckled, making his way to the door. "Finders keepers and the case was first presented to me so... Ta!"

Bella shot up from her chair and was on the other side of the room in front of Edward within a second, her hands on her hips and her eyes narrowed.

"I believe I would be best to take this job on," she hissed.

"Really?" Edward asked sarcastically to which she nodded with fervor. "Well, I think that _I _would be best to take the case."

Jasper, who had been standing silently in a corner of the room, watched the two raiders with a barely restrained laughter bubbling up in his chest. This was going to be interesting. Barren and Coulter both opened their briefcases and took official looking letters out.

The bickering between the raiders continued even as Coulter and Barren stood next to them.

"Excuse me," Barren said, clearing his throat.

"Shut up!"

The two raiders stood at an impasse, glaring each other down in their fight for the case. This was the kind of case that people like Edward and Bella dreamt of. It was such a legend, such a mystery, thrown into their laps straight by the Gods of the olden days.

"Lady Swan," Coulter said and something about his tone made her break the staring contest she was holding with Edward. "I implore you to take this case on."

"And I will!" she shouted.

"Like _hell _you will," Edward retaliated. "It's my case!"

"Well, these gentlemen here obviously don't trust you to do it on your own! Otherwise they wouldn't have dragged you here!"

Edward's eyes narrowed dangerously, the emerald green turning into dark slits.

"Both of you!" Barren shouted exasperated. "Shut up!"

The two raiders turned to him like one to glare at the man. But the man who had been so scared of Bella no five minutes ago, surprisingly held his ground.

"Edward," he said, taking a deep breath and handing him the letter in his hands. "This case is of such significance that the President himself requested your collaboration with Lady Swan."

"Well," Edward scoffed. "The President can kiss my a-"

"I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you," Barren warned matter-of-factly.

"Abnormally handsome cheek," he finished anyway with a cheeky grin. Barren just grunted at him.

Coulter spoke now, handing a similar letter to Bella. "Lady Swan, in name of the Queen, MI5 requests you work with Mister Cullen on this case."

Bella sagged a little, bound by some weird sense of loyalty.

"Fine!" They both exclaimed. They reluctantly turned to each other and shook on it. Jasper, who was still standing in the corner, looked on in utter disbelief. Never before had Bella worked with someone else. He wasn't sure whether to be in awe of this moment or deathly afraid.

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><p><strong>I've been completely blown away by all the hits, alerts, favorites and reviews the prologue alone generated. I can't really believe it. Every single one of you have made me smile. Thank you so much. Please don't forget to review this chapter if you liked it. <strong>

**Special thanks to my wonderful Beta Smmiskimen. She's truly an amazing woman. Check out her own work! **

**Also special thanks to the girls over at the Alternate Universe Fanfiction Recommendations on Facebook. Without their encouragment, I wouldn't be rewriting this story. **

**I know this chapter is a little short but I needed to cut off where I did. Next chapter will be all about the case and the two teams getting to know each other. **

**Kisses from Pixie. **


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight nor Tomb Raider. I just play around with the worlds and make them collide. No copyright infringement intended. **

**AN at the bottom.**

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><p>The mountains were cold and inhospitable, nearly impossible to cross. The peaks were covered with miles of unrelenting snow, waiting to be awoken to slide down in an all destructive avalanche. The valleys were made up of untouched, raw wilderness, millions of trees, bushes and accompanying wild life. It was near impossible for mankind to cross.<p>

There was one mountain that stood out from the rest, hundreds of metres taller, its peak obscured by clouds and snow and ice. If one would look closely, squint against the reflected sunlight, and dedicate time and patience, they would see the small, narrow opening in the wall of the mountain.

Through that gap was an incomprehensible labyrinth of passageways, nature's way of leading and misleading. The tunnels were dark and damp, the air thin and surprisingly hot. Around bends, through hidden openings and over deep tumbling drops into a seemingly endless abyss, a door waited to be opened. The door was thousands of years old, made out of thick, pure oak. It was engraved with runic texts, some faded to the point of being impossible to read.

Through this door waited a power so vast, so impossible to fathom. The cave was dark for all but one beam of light dropping down from the very top of the mountain and it shone on a massive, metal crafted stature of a tree.

The tree had nine large branches, branching away from each other and yet connected through the thick stem of the tree. Seven of the branches went up or to the side in the air, two others went down into the deep, clear water that surrounded it.

This tree was the earthly manifestation of Yggdrasyl, the tree of life. Nordic mythology told of nine realms in the universe. The realms were Asgard, Alfheim, Hel, Midgard or Earth, Jotunheim, Muspelheim, Nidavellir, Svartalfheim, Vanaheim, Niffleheim and lastly, Valhalla.

The Vikings believed this tree to be the construction of the universe, each realm connected by the branches and each one of them dependant on it.

The tree that stood in the mountains had control over planet Earth and so it was an absolutely deathly force. Though it was made out of thick, unearthly metal, the tree seemed to breathe the air around it, pulsing with energy. It was alert yet unaware that far away, thousands of miles from its location the very people that would ensure its safety were only just meeting each other.

**~*TR*~ **

After Bella and Edward had reluctantly agreed to work together, she kicked the agents from her property without pardon. The sheer audacity that the FBI displayed by coming onto her property...in her vicinity, was enough to have her reeling with residual fury.

But despite herself, she was raised as a Lady and she felt obligated to be a good host to her new guest. She watched him as he was on the phone with his own team and worried her bottom lip. He was a handsome man, ridiculously so even. His physique was long and muscular, but not bulky. He looked agile and fast, predatory in the way he held his body even in rest.

His face was carved with a strong jawline and a strong nose. His lips were full but not too full, just enough to make Bella wonder what it would feel like to softly bite down on them. His eyes were incredible, the most vivid shade of green she had ever seen. On top of his head stood an unruly mop of hair, imperfection to offset the rest of him. It made him seem more approachable, less deity-like.

She was attracted to him, she had felt it last year when she had relished in the feeling of his gaze on her body during the exhibition. But it was that same attraction that annoyed her wickedly. She needed her wits about on the case, couldn't afford to be distracted anymore than she already would be by the sudden additions to her team.

She had invited Edward to bring his team to her mansion. It was large enough to house any number of guests and she felt more comfortable being on her own turf. Also the amount of books she had on Nordic mythology was staggering and they could use all the information they got.

"Alright, see you in a bit," Edward told the person on the other end of the phone connection and he snapped his phone shut. Turning back to her, he took a deep breath and made his way to the desk she was sitting at.

Sitting down opposite of her, he said. "My crew is on their way."

"Good," she said with a nod of her head, fixating her eyes onto the file in front of her. The same file they had fought over. _God, he's annoying_, she thought a little bitterly. She wasn't used to being denied or being told what to do. Which in this case meant working with him.

She knew of Edward Cullen, obviously. He had made amazing discoveries and he was just as renowned as an archaeologist as she was. She didn't question his competence, nor his talent to sniff out potent information or deter dangerous threats; it was just that she didn't like working with others.

"When will they be here?" she asked, looking up to find him staring at her. She felt a sudden, cursed blush creeping up the back of her neck as he shook himself out of his thoughts.

"Sorry," he said, clearing his throat. "In about two hours. If they can find the way." he finished with a hearty chuckle. Bella smiled despite herself.

"Do you want Jasper to call them with the exact coordinates?" she teased, baffling not only Edward but also herself.

"They'll be fine," Edward assured her. He motioned towards the file with his hand and she silently handed it to him. His brow instantly turned into a frown as he read the information he already knew by heart and she frowned along with him.

"Something wrong?" she pried and he shook his head briefly.

"Not wrong per sé," he said. "Just worried about Black, Inc."

Bella nodded a little. Black, Inc was a large crime organisation, mostly known for smuggling weapons and making biochemical weapons of mass destruction to sell to the highest bidder. At the head of the organisation stood Bill Black, a particularly ruthless man; and on his right hand, his son Jacob Black. Black, Inc was infamous for their viciousness, not caring how much blood they spilled in their quest to expand their ever-growing financial status.

And now they were after Yggdrasil. If they got their hands on it, they could turn the ancient force into a weapon strong enough to wipe away entire continents in one fell swoop. The governments of the world would be tripping over each other to get it, outbidding each other relentlessly. It would make Bill Black an unfathomably rich man.

It was now up to Bella and Edward and their teams to find it before Black, Inc did and secure its safety; and that would not be an easy thing to do.

"We'll handle them," Bella said confidently and Edward nodded. She saw a darkness in his eyes that she hadn't seen before but chose not to ask him. There was no need for personal questions, no incentive to truly know each other. All she needed to know from him was if he was competent enough to contribute to her safety during the quest.

He got back up. Fidgety, Bella thought, inserting that piece of data in her mind. He walked along the bookcases, running his long fingers across the spines and humming under his breath. She took a deep breath but found herself staring at him once more. His ass in particular, seemed to really call out to her.

It moved perfectly in his somewhat tight jeans as he strolled around and she had to clench her fist in an attempt to stop her fingers from wanting to grab him. Her eyes narrowed involuntarily into a glare, her lip getting caught between her teeth. It was an old habit, one she couldn't shake.

"Are you glaring at my ass, Bella?"

"What? _No!_" she sputtered, furious with herself as she stumbled over her words, betraying herself. "Of course not!" Her English accent thickened substantially with her discomfort and soon Edward was chuckling up a storm. He reached back and patted his own ass, causing her to roll her eyes in exasperation. Her lips pursed, back straight, chin tilted high. It was a clear sign that she was aristocratic.

People like her rarely showed annoyance or anger, but there were subtle signs. They hid behind rigidness and putting up an arrogant front, becoming unapproachable to the subject of their discomfort. Edward had seen it before on royalty and he promptly dubbed it the _'Princess face'. _

Edward was still smirking when he pulled a book off of the shelves and settled into one of the comfortable chairs in the corner of the room. Silence fell as he read and Bella was busy studying the case some more.

Finding Yggdrasil wouldn't be easy. Picking a loose thread of beginning wouldn't be easy. But they had to and so she let her mind go a hundred miles an hour. Thoughts of Yggdrasil turned to thoughts of Norse mythology. In her mind she went through the pages of the Edda, which she had read many times in her life. Runic symbols danced around her mind, taunting her with the answer and she responded in kind.

Runes were the ancient symbols of Norse mythology. Modern day witches now claimed the script to be their own, given to them by their pagan gods.

Witches. Bella mused silently. Witches, covens, clues and signs.

"Hmm," she hummed at which time Jasper walked through the door of the office.

"Are you two playing nice?" he teased causing Edward to chuckle.

"Just send in reinforcements when you start seeing nun-chucks flying through the house," he replied.

"Or bullets," Bella added with a quirk of her eyebrow. To say she was not amused by the situation would be a gross understatement. While she was fine working with her own team, it was an altogether different story to work with another raider.

Raiders are notoriously territorial and competitive and while they often worked with a team of supporting archaeologists and tech-managers, they had vastly different mentalities than their team mates. Which was probably the main reason they could work together. But raiders amongst each other would inevitably turn into a pissing match. To see who could outdo the other. Glory was a fickle thing and raiders craved it like they craved adventure. Glory, when attained, would be bitter if they had to share it with someone else.

Working together with Edward was a tough pill to swallow for Bella. And vice-versa.

Jasper smirked at Bella. Having known her for so long, he could tell by the look in her eyes that she was sulking, much to his amusement. She was always somewhat controlling in nature, a dominance about her that was as relentless as it was strong. It would be interesting for him to see her relinquish some of her control to Edward.

"How about I introduce you to the rest of the gang?" Jasper proposed.

"Yeah, definitely," Edward replied with a grin and got up to follow Jasper out of the office. He looked back over his shoulder at Bella and shot her a quick smile, but she seemed to be a million miles away, lost in thought. She was ridiculously beautiful like that.

He shook his head to clear it and followed Jasper through the impressive corridor and down the stairs, through the warmly decorated living room and past a lmassive glass wall that separated the large computer lab from the living room.

"Alice is gonna lose her shit," Edward chuckled quietly, letting his eyes roam over the computers.

"Hmm?" Jasper inquired.

"Nothing," he replied with another chuckle. "One of my team mates is gonna flip when she sees this lab."

Jasper chuckled too and opened a thick door that led into a large, homey kitchen. The smell that wafted up Edward's nose was mouthwatering and he looked inside to see the woman Jasper had whispered to when he and the agents arrived bustling around.

"Esme," Jasper called out and she turned around with a smile. It was truly a beautiful woman, soft in every sense of the word. She was short and curvy, her hair a honey brown color and her face kind and open. Edward felt the strange urge to hug her.

"Oh hello!" she exclaimed, wiping her hands on the kitchen towel tucked into her apron and meeting Edward half way in the kitchen to shake his hand.

"Welcome, dear," she said with a warm tingle in her eyes. "My name is Esme."

"Edward Cullen," he introduced himself with an equally warm smile. "It's good to meet you."

"Likewise, dear," she said. "Would you like some coffee?"

Edward nodded, looking around the kitchen as Esme made him his coffee. It was a large open space but, despite the risk of becoming a cold, hollow room, it was furnished and painted in such a way that it was cosy and homey. He had no doubt in his mind that this must be one of the residents' favorite rooms to be in. Sitting down on one of the stools that ran along one side of the impressive kitchen island, he ran his hand through his hair and turned to Jasper, who had been quietly observing him. The coffee Esme put in front of him smelled delicious and he blew into the cup before taking a sip. He could still feel Jasper's gaze on him and it was starting to make him uncomfortable.

"What?" he chuckled causing Jasper to chuckle in return.

"Nothing," he said, sitting down too. "I'm just really interested to see how your collaboration with Bella will pan out, is all."

Edward groaned softly. Working together was gonna be hell. It would be like having two captains on one ship. It was bound to be a problem. Now, in all honesty Edward had to admit that he didn't mind working with Bella so much...it was Bella herself that he felt was gonna pose a problem.

Though he wasn't exactly what you could call a celibate man, he had never before had such a strong pull towards a member of the fairer sex. She was strong willed, hardheaded and absolutely dominant. All the traits he himself possessed and it made for some wicked bedroom scenarios in his mind.

Would she lose some of her rigidness in the throws of orgasm? Would she relinquish control to him, let him pin her down as his body moved deep inside hers? He doubted it; but the thoughts were enough to make his jeans uncomfortably tight.

A loud ding coming from the computer lab made him startle a bit.

"That must be your friends," Esme said with an excited smile. Edward shot her a smile back and they followed Jasper out of the kitchen and into the lab. As Edward looked at the monitor, it was confirmed that his team had arrived and he went outside to welcome them with a huge grin on his face. With his team here he didn't feel so out of place.

He waited while Emmett, Alice and Carlisle pulled up to the house; and when they got out, he jogged down the steps to welcome them.

"Wow, this place is beautiful," Alice breathed, giving Edward a quick hug around the waist.

"Isn't it?" he asked unnecessarily to which she nodded and went to the back of the car to get the luggage Emmett was hauling out.

Emmett's posture was enough to make Jasper, who was standing in the doorway, uncomfortable. He observed the man quietly. He was tall, easily 6'4", and quite possibly just as broad in the shoulders. His shirt barely hid the muscles underneath.

The second man was a different story. He was shorter, way less muscular and yet he bore a natural air of leadership. Parental almost. His hair was blond but his eyes were a shade of brown that came close to black. It was an odd combination.

Jasper's eyes then landed on the girl and his breath hitched in his throat a little. She was small, much tinier than the women he lived with and it made him feel naturally protective over her. What was her business being in such a danger-ridden life as team member to a tomb raider? Her face was delicate and absolutely feminine, outlined by long flowing jet-black hair that brushed the small of her back.

He only barely managed to stop staring at her in time for them to reach him and introduce themselves.

"Good afternoon," he spoke jovially, extending his hand to the largest man. "My name is Jasper."

"Emmett," he introduced himself calmly.

"Carlisle," the blond man said, taking over and lastly the girl introduced herself in a bell-like voice.

"Alice."

"Welcome to Swan Manor," Jasper told her, a little too warmly for Edward's liking. "Please make yourselves at home."

**~*TR*~**

Bella was still in the office when she heard the newcomers come in and she slowly closed the case file in front of her. Her earlier thoughts about witches had led to an idea that she was eager to share with her team. And Edward.

She made her way out the door and into the corridor that looked out over the living room. Looking down she observed Edward interact with his team mates a short while before moving to join them.

"Hello," she called out as she made her way down the last few steps of the stairs and claiming the attention of everyone in the room. Introductions were made quickly, and repeated when Rosalie finally joined them, and soon they were sitting on the comfortable couches.

Bella watched the people around her interact and was surprised by how easily they all fell together. Emmett was a quiet man, never saying anything that wasn't worth saying, whereas his younger sister Alice was a ball of hyperactive fire, fluttering around the computer lab and rarely sitting down longer than a few seconds.

Carlisle was, as Bella deduced, the Esme of Edward's team. Parental, a guardian and the one who kept them in line. It was clear to see how much Edward looked up to him.

The most surprising interactions between the teams, though, was how Rosalie reacted to Emmett. Usually, she was calm and collected around men - some would even say cold - but this man rendered her down to blushing and stammering with as much as a look her way. It was as amusing as it was disconcerting to watch.

Edward and she filled their teams in on the case. The silence that followed was filled with weary anticipation and hearty excitement. Weary about Black, Inc. and excited about the case itself.

Finding Yggdrasil would be...invigorating.

"Norse mythology has been absorbed into modern day paganism," Bella spoke out.

"Wicca," Edward offered, looking at her. She nodded.

"Exactly," she continued. "We need to be looking for covens that may know more about Yggdrasil. Covens that might specialize in viking magick."

"I agree," Edward told her.

"But how to go about that?" Carlisle asked. "It's not like we can do a google search."

"And knocking on every high priestess' door this side of the world would take too long," Emmett completed.

"True," Bella mused, losing herself in thought. How to go about it indeed.

"Well, fortunately witches aren't nearly as cryptic as they like to believe," Edward chuckled. "And a google search isn't that bad an idea."

"We might be looking for covens that practice old-order witchcraft," Rosalie said. "I don't think the location to Yggdrasil would be handed to a bunch of Charmed-wannabees."

"Very good," Edward nodded. "Although I wouldn't mind running into Alyssa Milano on the way there." He couldn't help but add, receiving a handful of chuckles and an eye roll from Bella.

"Let's think logically here," Bella said in a clipped tone. "Where do the strongest witches reside here in Europe?"

"Avalon?" Alice offered, giggling a little nervously. She was actually quite serious.

Bella smiled. "Fair enough, but I doubt we have enough time to find Avalon _and_ Yggdrasil."

"Ireland," Edward stated, looking down at the floor in thought. "Definitely Ireland."

"I agree," Bella said. "And their coven would represent their goal to keep Yggdrasil hidden from the world."

"Right," Jasper said. "Their name would be an indication."

"But why would they do that?" Emmett asked. "Wouldn't it be a big fat neon sign that says: 'Hey, come find us, we hold the key to the ultimate power'?"

"Witches are arrogant," Esme encountered. All seven pairs of eyes were suddenly on her and she smiled bashfully. "They're arrogant enough to trust in their power to keep themselves hidden. They believe nothing can touch them."

"Well, potions and charms won't stop a few hundred speeding bullets," Emmett hissed. "If Black, Inc. were to find the coven before we did, that's exactly what will happen."

"They won't," Edward whispered. "We'll make sure they don't."

Emmett sighed, nodding only slightly. He recognized his friend's and leader's stubborn streak from a mile away. Edward would find a way to make it happen. Emmett just hoped it wouldn't be too late.

The group disbanded after that. Alice and Jasper went to do a computer search on possible covens, while Edward and Bella hit the books with that exact same goal. Rosalie followed Emmett out to the car to help him carry in their supplies and Carlisle and Esme went into the kitchen to make sure the group would be properly taken care of.

In the office/library, Bella was watching Edward as his eyes sped across the pages in the book on his lap.

"So what's your story?" she asked suddenly, before she could stop herself.

Edward's eyes fluttered up to hers before looking back down.

"How do you mean?"

"I mean how did you become a raider? Glory? Money? A video game perhaps?"

Edward chuckled quietly, before scratching the scruff on his jaw with his thumb. The sight momentarily rendered Bella stupid.

"I was raised to be one," he offered after a moment.

"Really?" Bella asked, quite baffled. She, herself, was raised to be one but this was the first time she had ever heard of someone that was like her.

"Yeah," Edward said, clearing his throat and keeping his eyes stubbornly on the page before him. "When my parents died, I took over."

"Oh," Bella breathed. "I apologize, I didn't mean to pry."

Edward finally looked up into her eyes and held her gaze. In the emerald depths of his suddenly swimming eyes, she saw an endless supply of understanding and pain, but also vast wisdom - the kind of which she would have never credited him for ten minutes prior.

"It's fine," he whispered. "I'd ask for your story but Lord and Lady Swan's deaths weren't exactly a quiet affair in the biz."

This made Bella uncomfortable. She'd known that her parents' death had caused a shock wave throughout the raiders and archaeologist community, especially because of the suspicious circumstances. Death was a necessary evil in their lifestyle. Your safety as a raider was never ensured but the fact was that not only her father, but her mother also had been murdered in their sleep and that, to the community, was too suspicious.

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Edward whispered and she shook her head as if to dismiss the fact that she was.

"We all have our sad stories to tell," she offered him cryptically and he took it with a nod.

"Yes," he agreed, squinting back at the book. "And I think I found our coven."

**~*TR*~**

The small town of Kilrush, Clare County was a quiet and quaint place nestled along Ireland's treacherous and impressive coast line. The town housed the coven of Alina, which would be translated as Coven of the Distant Place and they specialized in Viking magic and mythology. The Internet search had found nothing on them, but the book Edward had been reading revealed they were a centuries old coven and that they never had located away from the place they resided today.

Edward and Bella's gazes met as they drove into the town and they both took deep breaths. They had decided to go alone, leaving not only the house protected but also assuring that they wouldn't be shunned by the coven due to sheer overwhelming strength on their part.

They needed to talk to the high priest and priestess, Gerald and Peitre, about Yggdrasil and make them see that Edward and Bella weren't interested in finding it for monetary reasons but purely to protect it. It wasn't going to be easy, witches were notoriously stubborn and secretive. They would need to tread carefully.

As they pulled up to the address that they had been provided with by Jasper and Alice, they were surprised to find a tall and scowling woman awaiting them. They had barely stepped out of the car before they were forced on their knees by a power they could neither see nor fathom. The woman smirked arrogantly as she held one fist in the air.

"You must be Peitre," Edward grunted from his position on the ground.

"Yes," she confirmed with a hateful hiss. "And you are not welcome here."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry! I know it's been too long since I updated but as some (most) of you might know I've started another story called 'Saving Grace' and I couldn't be pulled away from it. <strong>

**On to the ass-kissing: My lovely beta Smmiskimen deserves a round of applause for managing to churn out this chapter while trying to raise kids and write a paper. I applaud her. She's Superwoman to me. **

**And then the insanely talented SoapyMayhem for making a stunning banner for Tomb Raider, which can be found on my blog. **

**Yes ladies, I have a blog now! Visit me at pixiedawnff (dot) blogspot (dot) com. There are pictures there to be found as well as info on me and my stories. **

**Kisses to you all. Pix. **


	4. Chapter 3

**I don't own Twilight. Stephenie Meyer does and she's gracious enough to let us play with her characters. No copyright infringement intended. **

**AN at the bottom. **

* * *

><p>Peitre's spell served to do more than just restrain. It was to Edward and Bella's horror that they found their eyesight blurring, darkening until they were completely blind. Edward's grunts, struggling against the spell, caused a bout of panic to rise up in Bella's gut. A feeling she was neither accustomed to nor particularly keen on.<p>

Her every instinct was to reach out and protect her companion. She didn't want to think about what that might have implied but she found herself struggling too, her blind eyes flickering - wide open in panic.

"Peitre," she called out, though her locked jaw making it incredibly difficult to talk. "We are here to talk to you. We mean you no harm!"

"Lies," the high priestess bit back, elongating her 's' in a menacing hiss.

"I swear," Bella ground out, gasping when she felt the air leave her lungs in a crushing swoosh with a single hand gesture from Peitre.

She tried to gasp in air, opening and closing her mouth like a fish on dry land but no air would come in.

"Bella," Edward grunted, pushing up with enough strength to lift himself up an inch into the air before he was thrust back down onto the hard ground. He tried again, feeling his spine arch unnaturally under the spells pressure and he shouted out.

"Stop! _Stop it!_ We are here to help you keep Yggdrasil safe!"

Bella was still gasping for breath, feeling her head starting to swim.

"I'll take you to my coven," Peitre said dangerously. "And then we'll decide what to do with you."

With a startling force, Bella and Edward were pulled to their feet. Bella gulped in precious bouts of air. The guns gently tapping against her thighs comforted her considerably; she wasn't going to hurt Peitre but she took heart in the fact that she _could _if she wanted to.

The spell pushed them onwards, allowing their feet to walk along with its pressure as Peitre guided them through the ancient town. They couldn't see a damn thing but the two raiders memorized the path of their feet, an action that was ingrained in them by years of practice and when they were halted, they both knew the exact way they had came from.

They were put down to their knees, side by side, and then the spell lifted. They were meticulous about not showing that their bodies were slackened by the sudden release. They looked strong and in control.

Looking around, they were surrounded by a circle of witches, male and female alike and all of them wearing equal looks of determination and hatred on their faces.

"What is your business here?" An older man, who must've been Gerald, demanded and Edward bit down his knee-jerk sarcastic reaction.

"We wish to talk to you," Bella said, letting all of her authority shine through in her voice. Her chin was up, her eyes a guarded fire. Edward was looking at her, absorbing some of her confidence.

Bella continued, her voice gaining strength as she spoke. "I'm Lady Isabella Swan and this is my respected friend Edward Cullen. I don't know if you have ever heard of us or what we do but we find and protect ancient sights and artifacts.

"We've been notified of a dangerous criminal organisation that is looking for Yggdrasil in order to turn it into a weapon of mass-destruction. They want it and they won't stop until they have it."

Peitre looked at Gerald, a frown on her face as she leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"For all we know, you are the dangerous ones," he spat.

Bella and Edward looked at each other, swallowing down the direct insult to their very core. Edward took a deep breath and met the high priest's gaze evenly.

"You can feel it," he said. "You can feel if our intentions were bad."

Bella and Edward instantly felt tendrils of focused energy surrounding them, invading their privacy and inner thoughts and they gritted their teeth through the experience. It was like being prodded and poked in private places by strangers and it made them feel nauseous and dizzy.

As quickly as the sickening sensation washed over them, it was pulled back and Gerald bowed his head towards the raiders.

"You are right," he spoke. "We apologize for the way we treated you."

"No apologies necessary," Bella said, bowing her head as well. "We need to talk about how to protect you and the location to Yggdrasil."

"No." It was Peitre.

Edward and Bella looked at each other again in poorly hidden bafflement.

"Did you not hear the part about the dangerous criminal organisation?" Edward said, circling his finger around his ear. Bella stamped on his foot. The last thing they needed right now was for him to insult them and endanger their precarious understanding of each other.

"We heard you," Peitre spoke. "And we'll deal with it accordingly."

"These men are heavily armed, Peitre," Bella said. "They will come with force, shooting everything in sight and not caring how many innocent people take the bullets."

"We'll stop them."

"It's impossible," Edward said. "I implore you to see reason. Spells and charms won't protect you from their violence."

"Like I said," she spoke stubbornly. "We'll handle it. It is our duty to keep our secrets hidden. You do not have the authority, however good your hearts might be, to know such dangerous things."

**~*TR*~ **

"Son of a bitch," Edward swore, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel of the car violently. They had driven far enough inside the forest where they had been taken by Peitre to observe the coven from a distance. Bella, who was looking through a set of impressive binoculars, sighed.

"You have to put yourself in their shoes, Edward," she said. "Would you readily let strangers into the secrets you've been vowed by blood oath to keep?"

"If it was to save my ass, then yes!" he huffed indignantly.

"Not that I need anyone saving my ass," he couldn't help but add.

Bella rolled her eyes, adjusting her focus from Peitre to the other witches. They were in a loose circle, obviously debating but there was no way for Bella to hear what they were saying.

Unless she had a parabolic dish in the back of the car...

"No, we don't," Edward answered, causing her to frown and look over to him in confusion.

"You said that out loud," he explained with a shrug. Bella huffed. "Anyway, you favored the semi-automatic machine gun over the parabolic dish."

Another huff and she went back to observing the coven. "Stupid idea."

"Not so sure about that," Edward whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder and pointing to an all terrain vehicle coming to a stop a few hundred feet away from their car. Edward and Bella exchanged a pointed look and they both slid out of the car, crouching down until they were at the back.

"I'll take that one," Edward said, holding up aforementioned machine gun. Bella shrugged, opening another case and taking out an M14 sniper rifle.

"God _damn_," Edward swore, not even trying to cover up his arousal. Seeing Bella handle one of the most badass guns out there with perfect ease and confidence made his blood boil. He blatantly adjusted himself and Bella studiously ignored him.

His obvious response to her made her cheeks flush and the apex of her thighs ache. However, they had no time left since one of the men in the other vehicle had stepped out, taking out a rifle similar to Bella's and was currently climbing up onto the roof of the car for a perch.

It was as if the two raiders read each other's minds because Edward instantly squatted down and folded his hands to give Bella a boost. Bella, in turn, put her foot into Edward's hands and let him lift her up until she was high up enough to easily slide onto the roof of their own car to make a perch of her own.

Once in position, she cocked the gun, lazily looking through the visor and telling Edward to go around to the coven at the same time. Edward did so without question, sliding through the woods, almost completely disappearing in his stealth.

Bella would've marveled at his cat-like stealth if she wasn't too busy getting a clear shot on the sniper. As soon as she had it, she made no question about it and squeezed the trigger. The shot rang clear and loud through the otherwise silent forest and she watched through the visor as her bullet hit its target, knocking the other sniper off the roof of the car with a spray of blood.

"Forgive me, Father," she automatically muttered, slipping off the side of the roof and landing on the ground with a muted thud just in time for the enemies to catch up on what happened and open fire.

She was crouching behind the car, which was taking a heavy assault of bullets. With perfect ease, she slid away from it, into the bushes and made her way around through the thick overgrow of forest to the coven.

It was chaos, Edward was trying to herd the panicked witches away, all the while making a point to cover the woods in front of him through the visor of his gun, ready at all time to take down an enemy. He swivelled around as soon as he saw Bella break the treeline and sighed in relief when he identified her.

"We need to get them out of here," he grunted, going back to the safety behind his gun.

"No!" Peitre screamed. "We won't go. We have to protect the coven!"

"With what, exactly?" Edward bit back. "Potions? Spells? Do you think the Goddess herself will swoop down to take the bullets for you?"

"Edward," Bella shushed him, turning to Peitre who looked hurt by Edward's words.

"You can't protect your coven from these men," she explained hurriedly. "They won't hesitate to kill every one you've ever loved to get answers from you. They are truly evil."

"Take cover!" Edward shouted at that exact moment, only seconds before a folly of bullets bled through the trees, destroying the carefully made altar and killing everyone who wasn't fast enough to duck down onto the ground.

"Goddess!" Peitre cried, having been knocked down onto the ground by Bella. She and Edward made quick work to carefully drag the surviving members of the coven behind the large stone altar table, which was heavily damaged but thick and strong enough to withstand the bullets.

Behind the stone, they made sure that everyone was okay. Bella swore loudly when she saw Gerald, the large and intimidating high priest of the coven clutching his shoulder where blood was steadily gushing out between his fingers.

Peitre, who was crying, moved towards him and placed her hand on top of his, muttering spells and keeping pressure on the wound just as Edward and Bella exchanged another pointed look and grabbed fresh ammo out of their packs. Loading up their guns, they both took position on either side of the rock, not even cringing as the bullets flew all around them.

As one, they returned fire blindly, shooting at random and hoping their bullets hit target. It must've been working because the rain of bullets coming from the thick overgrown forest lessened considerably and a folly of angered shouts grew.

"Eat it, bastards," Edward grunted.

The gunfire lasted another couple seconds until the bullets coming from the forest ceased completely. Edward and Bella looked at each other, shaking their heads ever so slightly.

They were both thinking it: _Trap. _

The witches behind the stone were whimpering and crying, moaning in anguish at the loss of their friends and fretting over their fallen priest. Bella looked over her shoulder at Peitre, who was still steadily muttering spells. But Bella could see from her spot that it was too late; Gerald's eyes were dull and unseeing and the blood trickling from his shoulder had no force behind it. His heart wasn't pumping it out anymore. He was dead.

"Peitre," she whispered, to no avail. She looked at Edward who shook his head sadly.

"This didn't have to happen," he told her.

"I know," she nodded. They retreated back behind the safety of the stone, crouching to keep their heads hidden. They watched in sad silence as Gerald's death sunk in with Peitre. A gut wrenching scream filled the air and before Edward could stop her, Peitre had jumped up; leaving the safety of the altar stone. Gunfire immediately erupted from the woods as Bella and Edward struggled to pull the high priestess down to safety.

"_No!_" she screamed, but her voice was off - it turned deep and rumbling, like a thick almost demonic grunt. The remaining witches from the coven pushed the raiders out the way and placed their hands somewhere on Peitre's body to give her their strength.

With one fell swoop she stopped the bullets that were heading straight towards her and they fell on the grass with muted little thuds. Another scream filled the air, this one so high pitched that Edward and Bella cried out, covering their ears with their hands and making them crawl into a ball to get away from it.

It stopped as suddenly as it came and Edward pulled Bella as far from Peitre as he could without leaving the cover of the stone. The scream rang again and they huddled together, Edward covering Bella in protection from it. Bella, who under any other circumstance would've struggled with the idea of someone protecting her, didn't mind and huddled further into him. Anything to get away from the piercing sensation in her head.

There was a second scream, decidedly more human and male, and the last goon standing from inside the woods came flying into the clearing. Driven by Peitre's frightening spell, his body hit the altar stone with sickening force, cracking his ribs and making blood gush out of his mouth.

Peitre pushed him back, only to slam him into the stone again. This time his spine hit the very edge of the stone and the definite break of his back rang disturbingly clear through the air.

The inhumane scream stopped as the man's body slumped onto the stone, lifeless and Edward and Bella let go of each other, gazing at Peitre in astonished marvelment. And fear. Most definitely fear.

When Peitre turned around to them, they scrambled backwards a bit. The woman's eyes had turned from gentle green to demonic red, her nose was bleeding, and the general air around her seemed to crackle with residual power.

"I will take you where you want to go," she spoke, her voice still that deep demonic grunt.

**~*TR*~ **

Edward and Bella looked out over the wild ocean that was beating down violently against the small stretch of beach below them. The cliffs were high and wickedly jagged, the danger this posed for repelling down was considerable but the raiders didn't seem to care as they strapped themselves into their harnesses.

Peitre was sitting silently on the ground, her eyes unseeing as she stared out across the sea. She had reverted back to her usual self but the loss of Gerald had punched a hole through her chest where her heart used to be. The display of careless use of power had drained her, exhausting her powers to the point where she doubted she would ever be able to use them fully again. It was cruel.

As the two raiders finished up, they turned towards the high priestess in calculated curiosity.

"When you get down there," Peitre started. "You need to go left until you reach a small, hidden cave-opening. Inside is a maze. Watch your step, not a lot of people have entered that maze and gotten out."

With a deep breath, Bella nodded, unsure of what to do. Were they to stay here to comfort Peitre or bring her back to her home?

"Go," Peitre said, surprisingly clear.

It was all the incentive they needed to walk up to the edge of the cliff and turn their back to the sea. Edward went over the edge first, carefully avoiding the sharp rocks on his way down. As he was about half way down, he shouted at Bella that it was safe to get down and so she slipped carefully over the edge, looking at Peitre the entire time.

The last thing she saw of the high priestess was the single tear that slipped from the corner of her eye and wriggled down her cheek. It caused Bella's stomach to clench in dread.

After she touched down on the pebbled stretch of beach, Edward and she made their way left. Careful to keep their eyes out for the hidden cave system, they were quiet. As they were both absorbing the happenings of today, the quiet quickly turned sad and frustrated.

It was Edward that spoke out first.

"What happened today," he started with a huff. "It didn't have to happen."

"I know," Bella agreed with a sigh.

"Why would they be so stubborn? Was our warning not clear enough or something?"

"It was," Bella nodded. "They were just overly confident in their own power."

"Yeah well, Peitre's power was pretty goddamn impressive if you ask me," Edward mused, kicking a few pebbles away.

"Yes, and the price she'll have to pay for it will be intense."

"What do you mean?" he asked with a frown.

Bella turned to him. "She used up all she had and then some, Edward," she spoke. "It's unlikely that she'll ever be able to recover from that."

"That sucks," he mused quietly, squinting down the beach.

Bella was so caught up in her thoughts, that she didn't notice the large driftwood piece sticking out from the pebbles on the beach. She grunted when she slammed her shin into the wood, causing her to lose balance and for the first time in ages, she felt the sensation of tripping.

She closed her eyes, holding out her hands to protect her face from the rough pebbles. Instead, she felt two decidedly strong arms wrap around her and pushing her body backwards. When her back hit the wall of the cliff, her front supported by Edward's body, she gasped and her eyes flew open.

"Careful," he muttered, his eyes focused sharply on hers. Her first instinct was to fight him, to release herself from the embarrassment that came with his body protecting hers - for the second time that day but Edward's gaze pinned her to her place just as his body subconsciously pushed into her further. Her breath hitched and it wasn't the first time that she noticed just how breathtakingly _green_ his eyes were.

She could feel all of him against her. The hardness of his chest was pressed tightly against her softer one, his thigh was in between her legs and she could feel the muscles clenching against her. A rush of adrenaline surged through her body, leaving her tingling and there was an ache building up in her stomach.

She watched with baited breath as his eyes darkened from the usual grassy green shade to a shade so dark it was almost black. His gaze flickered down to her lips and without input from her brain, she licked them. His eyes darkened impossibly deeper, his hands coming up to take hers. Pinning her arms to the rock above her head, he whispered: "Do you have any idea what you do to me?"

"Oh God," she moaned when he enforced his words by grinding his growing erection into the softness of her belly. Closing her eyes, she waited for him to lean his head down to kiss her.

Her lips opened ever so slightly, waiting for the sensation of his lips against hers. She was ready for it, greedy even. He was gazing down at her, mesmerized by her beauty and fighting the urge to thrust his hips up against her to alleviate the pressure in his pants.

He slowly leaned down to her, watching her face as he descended and brushed his lips against hers softly. Once, twice, three times. The sensation was heady, overpowering, and he had to pull back a little before going in for more.

Just as he was about to do just that, to kiss her properly, a white light in his peripheral vision caught his attention. It was a large white orb, hovering along a small opening in the rocks and disappearing inside.

The reality of their surroundings, their mission, came crashing down on him and he summoned up the power to step away from the single most addicting woman he had ever met.

Her eyes flew open, an angered huff escaped her chest as he yanked his hand through his hair.

"I found the cave," he said, clearing his throat and pointing to where he had seen the white light.

"Oh," Bella's voice was clipped and distant, her demeanor had changed from open and lustful to cold and uninviting and he sighed. He left her hanging and she was angry about it.

"Let's go, then," she said, taking off. Edward shook his head, watching her walk away and silently cursed the moment they had just had. If only they were at her house, or in a hotel...

"Fuck," he swore quietly, turning to sprint after the woman that was now angrily pulling the overgrowth away from the cave's entrance.

"Bella."

"Don't," she warned. The intensity of what just happened was screwing with her head, confusing her and even worse, made her ache for more. His touch had ignited something inside her that she never thought was possible and those gentle brushed of his lips on hers had been the most sensual experience she had ever had, leaving her wondering what it might be like to kiss him fully, to embrace him, to...

"Stop it," she muttered quietly to herself.

"What?" Edward asked in confusion.

"Nothing, I didn't say anything," she bit at him and at his responding sigh, she felt the sharpest pang of guilt she had ever felt. She turned to him with a heavy breath.

"Let's just get this over with," she offered, a little less cold and he smiled at her.

"Yeah, come on."

Together they worked to clear the opening far enough so that they crawl inside. Bella went in first, the harsh beam of her flashlight dousing the the cave in light it had probably never seen before.

Edward grunted as he came in behind her, adding his flashlight to hers as he slapped the dust and spiderwebs from his shoulders.

"Let's go," Bella said and the two raiders set off to explore the narrow cave that loomed up ahead of them. Her thoughts went back to the moment she had shared with Edward on the beach and suddenly she was acutely aware of a thrumming energy that seemed to build between them, pulsating and tugging on her to step closer to him.

Confused, and admittedly frightened, she turned her head to see if the bond she was feeling was actually visible. It wasn't, but Edward had a distracted frown on his face and he was absently twitching the hand closest to her.

Was it possible that he was feeling the same thing?

The cave was an incredible structure of narrowing paths, huge open spaces, high ceilings countered by passages so low that they had to crawl. It seemed as though it was specifically designed to confuse and scatter. At one point, Edward had to pull himself up on a ledge that was too high for Bella to reach.

"Gimme your hand," he said, reaching down to her.

"I'll find another way up," she replied, placing her foot on the side of the rock in search of a spot she could use as leverage.

"Stubborn piece of..." Edward grunted, reaching down again to grab her hand.

"I'm fine!" she argued.

"Yeah, whatever." He gave an almighty pull on her arm, pulling her up and over the ledge. Irritated, she pushed him away as soon as she was up and scrambled up, patting the dirt from her clothes.

"I could have pulled myself up here, Edward," she quipped, launching into a rant how she'd been a raider for a long time and that she didn't need him. Her rant continued on and on but Edward wasn't listening to her.

There was a distinct shuffling in the part of the cave they had just left behind. It was hard to make out but his ears were pitched towards the sounds of boots on the stone ground, shuffling gravel away and sneaking past corners.

"Bella," Edward whispered, holding his hand up to get her to shut up.

"I've climbed numerous mountains and scaled walls without gear, Edward. I don't need anyone developing some sort of knight in shining armour complex for me. In all honesty, I don't even need you to get this mission done."

"Bella."

"I don't care how much taller you are than me, I do not now - nor will I ever - need your help."

"_Bella._"

"I've fared quite well on my previous quests before you came along and I will continue to do so after you've left, hear me?"

"Bella!"

"What?" she snapped back at him.

"We're being followed," he said, pointing down the dark caves.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for the reviews and favorites! <strong>

**Special thanks to my wonderful beta-chick Smmiskimen for being the best beta and friend ever. Love that lady - LOVE 'ER! **

**Till next time! Kisses from Pixie. **


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or Tomb Raider. I just like to make them play together. No copyright infringement intended. **

**Author's Note at the bottom. **

* * *

><p>Inside the caves, deadly silence rung. Edward and Bella were halted, frozen in their movements as they quietly listened for signs of the person who was following them. There was an occasional shuffle warning the raiders of the presence of an intruder.<p>

Bella clicked off her flashlight, Edward following suit, bathing the cave in such darkness that it was impossible to see anything. However, the loss of sight heightened their sense of hearing and the quiet shuffling was amplified considerably and they were able to make out the distinct sound of boots on rock.

A faint wisp of light in his periphery caught Edward's attention and, as he looked at it, he saw it morph, changing shape until he could clearly make out the figure of a man looking down at him. Edward placed his hand on Bella's shoulder, gaining her attention.

"What is it?" she whispered, her eyes not seeing the same thing as he was.

"That light," he whispered back.

"What are you talking about?"

"You can't see it?"

"See what?" she hissed, her ears still trying to focus on the intruder behind them.

"Follow me," Edward said, yanking on her arm. Huffing, she pulled her arm out of his grasp but he ignored her. The man of light was walking away and it seemed like it was guiding them. Wordlessly he followed him, much to Bella's chagrin.

"Edward," she hissed, trying to be as quiet as she could be while following him. He ignored her, choosing instead to focus solely on the strange apparition in front of him. It pulsated, it's shape flashing and distorting every few seconds before converting back to the image of a man.

Edward's instincts told him two separate things. It was clear that they were to follow this apparition but on the other hand, he automatically placed himself between it and Bella should it decide to attack. He knew she was angry but all he cared about at the moment was making sure they got away from whoever was following them and find the location to Yggdrasil. It was their main goal.

"Where do you think you're going?" Bella hissed and he shushed her.

"I'll explain later, I promise," he said. "Just trust me. Please."

Mildly shocked that Bella fell quiet after his plea for her to trust him, he continued down further into the tunnels. Occasionally losing view of the apparition but never for long and it wasn't too long before neither of them could hear the footsteps that followed them anymore.

"Whoever it was," Bella whispered, "must have gotten lost."

Edward silently agreed, looking around for the apparition who had disappeared again. His eyes however fell onto the walls. There were drawings on them, runic scripts and scenarios of Gods and Men, war and villages.

"Vikings," Bella whispered, reaching out to trace the rune for Odin on the wall.

"We must be close," he retorted.

"Yes, we must be," she agreed in her thick accent. "You realize that you will have to tell me what the hell you were following eventually right?"

"I realize," he chuckled, grinning over his shoulder at her. The corners of her mouth lifted up slightly in amusement, shaking her head at him. The smile on her face briefly reminded him of the moment they had shared on the beach earlier and he wanted to kick himself for not going through with kissing her.

He could've kissed properly, _should've _kissed her the way she had so obviously wanted him to. It would have been easy as breathing but he knew himself and he knew he couldn't have given his fullest in the kiss because he was distracted by the cave's opening he had just spotted. It frustrated and infuriated him but he vowed to himself that he would make it up to her when they got out of the caves.

"There's a door right there," Bella said, seemingly unaware of Edward's thoughts and he turned to where she was pointing. The door wasn't impressive in any way. Although it was clearly very old, the plain nature of it was confusing.

"Ancient viking janitor's closet?" Edward offered. Bella cracked a small smile at him, reaching out for the door and pushed on it, but it wasn't budging.

"Hm," she silently mused. She stepped back and let her eyes wander along the wood, tracing the grains for signs.

"What's this?" Edward whispered, leaning closer to it and tracing his fingers across the side of the door.

"Runes," Bella answered.

"Yeah, I know," he said, reading the inscription and muttering under his breath. "Fluids of life..."

"What?"

"It says to make an offering of the fluids of life."

Bella grimaced, not liking the sound of offering anything but Edward was already unclipping his hunting knife from his belt. He balled his hand into a tight fist and let it go again only to repeat the movement.

She stepped back a little, admired by his quick solving of the runes and his determination to do whatever it took to get the door open but she couldn't help but admit that the prospect of him cutting himself to offer blood to whatever magic sealed the door worried her.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked him, swinging her pack around so that she could get disinfecting alcohol and bandages from it.

"Yes," he said in a clipped voice, bringing the blade of his knife to the palm of his hand and closing it into a fist around the knife. He slowly drew the sharp knife through his fist causing blood to trickle from his closed fist. As he hissed from pain, she cringed from the feelings it caused deep within her chest.

As Edward drew the last stretch of the knife through his throbbing hand, he released a deep breath and opened his fist. Glancing at Bella, he was struck by how worried she looked and he allowed himself to feel strangely flattered and satisfied for a brief moment.

"Let's hope this works," he told her, placing his injured hand at the top of the column of runes.

The door instantly lit up with a strange bluish white light, filling much more intricate designs engraved into the wood and making its way up to Edward's hand. Bella gasped and drew back as she watched the light not only closing around his hand but also trickling away from the bottom of the door and weaving around his feet.

His face was set with determination, his eyes already beginning to see past the door and into a place that couldn't possibly be of this world.

"Edward?" Bella's voice sounded small and worried in his ears and it took all he had for him to rip his eyes away from the scenes that were unfolding before him to assure her he was okay.

"I'm okay," he told her and she was struck frozen by the swirling lights she could see in his eyes.

"I'm okay," he repeated before the light swallowed him completely before dying out.

"Edward!" Bella shouted, running to the spot where he had been less than a second before. She banged her fists against the door that had reverted back to the plain looking piece of wood it had been before.

"Damn it," she swore. "Edward!"

**~*TR*~ **

Swan Manor was filled with laughter as Jasper relayed the story of Bella and Edward's forced collaboration.

"Bella's face was priceless," he hiccuped. "The single most incredulous look I've ever had the pleasure of seeing."

"Edward's face must have been no less hysterical," Carlisle chuckled. "Bless his heart, but god knows that boy doesn't play well with others."

"I wonder how they're doing now," Emmett chuckled. "I wish I was there to see it."

"I agree," Rose giggled, earning a grin. "They must be close to killing each other by now."

"Goodness," Esme sighed, stroking a tear of laughter away from her eye. "I hope Bella isn't too snippy with the poor man."

"Oh, I'm sure they're fine," Jasper retorted. "Cussing each other out something wicked but fine."

Another round of giggles sounded. Short-lived however because red lights started going off in the computer lab along with a deafening folly of sirens.

"Shit!" Jasper exclaimed, shooting up from his seat on the couch next to Alice and rushing into the lab. The entire team followed him with pounding hearts.

He located the monitor that caused the frenzy, his silhouette flashing in the red lights. Alice and Emmett stood directly next to him. Alice was biting her nails as Jasper furiously typed away on his keyboard to open the programme that was tracking Bella and Edward.

"Edward's panic button," Jasper whispered and Emmett next to him took a deep breath to steady himself.

"Oh my god," Esme breathed, wringing her hands nervously.

"What's wrong with him?" Carlisle demanded, coming to stand behind Jasper with his hands on the back of the chair.

"I'm not sure," he answered. "What the fuck!" Edward's GPS dot on the screen had disappeared suddenly.

"Jasper, what's going on?" Alice asked, worry and fear rife in her voice.

"I don't know," he answered with a thick accent. "Edward just completely disappeared off the radar."

"What would make him do that?" Emmett asked, who looked calm if it weren't for the frantic look in his eyes.

"Nothing short of literally falling off the face of the earth," Jasper grunted.

Rosalie walked around Emmett and reached over the desk to turn off the sirens and the flashing lights, putting her hand on her brother's shoulder.

"Think," she whispered. "What could cause his GPS to fail?"

Jasper shook his head. "Nothing," he answered. "It's top of the line. I should be able to spot his location even if he was on the bottom of the ocean."

The satellite phone rang and Jasper grabbed it swiftly.

"Bella," he spoke.

"Where is he?" she demanded.

"I don't know," he told her, rubbing his forehead.

"What the bloody hell do you mean you don't fucking know? Trace his GPS!"

"I'm trying, Isabella!" Jasper shouted into the phone. "He's gone. I can't find his trace."

Esme placed her calming hand on his shoulder and he sighed, starting over. "His panic button went off and then his trace disappeared, Bella. Can you tell me what happened?"

He heard Bella huff along with the telltale sounds of her heavy boots pacing up and down. The sounds were confirmed by her dot on the screen moving back and forth ever so slightly.

"We're in a bunch of bloody caves," she cussed. "We came across a door and we believe behind it is the location of Yggdrasil. The door required a blood offering to open and Edward did so. There was a bloody weird light and then he just disappeared."

"That's odd," Jasper whispered.

"Thank you, Sherlock."

He huffed and Bella continued. "He did tell me he was okay right before he disappeared."

"I don't like it," Jasper told Bella, earning a chorus of the rest of the team that none of them liked it.

"Me neither," Bella responded. "Wait..."

Another dot appeared on Jasper's screen and he frowned just as Esme asked him if that was Edward.

"No," he told her. "I have no idea who that is."

"I do," Bella said, just as Jasper watched the second dot come closer to hers.

On the other end of the line, Bella was watching the dark familiar figure come closer to her. The shape was keeping to the darkness and she was silently preparing for the fight that would inevitably come.

"I'll call you back," she told Jasper.

"Wait! Bella, no!"

She hung up the phone and clicked it back onto her belt.

"You should know by now that it's rude to sneak up on a lady," she spoke into the darkness, widening the stance of her legs and placing her hands on the slope of her hips.

A familiar chuckle came back to her and she smirked.

"Where's your friend?" the figure asked, stepping into the range of light coming from Bella's flashlight. Before her, James Athol appeared. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him, her mind assaulted by memories.

James had once been Bella's friend. He was smart and witty and eager for her to teach him all she knew about being a raider. He was accepted into her family. Taken care of by Esme and his friendship had been valued by Jasper and Rosalie. He was quick to learn and he had quickly taken to missions on his own, using Swan Manor as his homestead and Bella's vast knowledge and book collections as his own.

It hadn't taken long for them to grow away from friendship and into the murky area of being lovers.

And so, Bella's fury burned white hot when James betrayed her on a mission. Claiming her find, her glory, to be his own for something as fickle as money. She had tossed him off her property and broken all ties with him.

To this day, she blamed him for betraying her, to let the desire for monetary gain overpower the rush of glory that came with tomb raiding. She had trusted him, taught him and cared for him and he had slapped her in the face with it.

"Here," she answered. "There." She cocked her head. "Everywhere."

James chuckled and Bella had to suppress the urge to shoot him in the throat.

"Now, James," she cooed. "You weren't following me, were you?"

"Why, of course I wasn't, dear Isabella," he cooed back. She had to swallow down bile. "I was simply in the neighbourhood and thought I'd stop by."

"Cut the bullshit, James," she snapped, silently cursing herself for allowing him to agitate her so badly. "Why are you here?"

James' expression changed dangerously. "Same reason you are, sweetness."

"And what might that be?"

"Yggdrasil," the name of the ancient legend came clumsily from his mouth and Bella narrowed her eyes.

"So you're the raider kissing Bill Black's shiny polished shoes?" she taunted with a deadly expression.

James shrugged. "He's going to make me a very rich man, Isabella. A _very_ rich man."

"You've learned nothing," she spat at him.

"Oh, I've learned enough," he retorted with a grin. "Thanks for that, by the way."

Bella drew her guns, pointing them at his face. "I gave you everything, James," she hissed. "And I can take it all away."

In a flash, James had drawn up his leg and with a roundhouse kick he swooped the guns from Bella's hands. She came into action immediately, taking a step up to him and launching a punch headed straight for his chest. He blocked her blow with an impressive move and held on to her arm, drawing her closer and slapping her fiercely across the face. This was what she needed to let the fury, which had silently been boiling in her gut, out and she twisted into him. With her back to his chest, she drew back her elbow sharply, hitting him in the ribs. He drew in a pained breath, bringing the arm that was holding on to hers up in a choke hold.

She grunted out a swear word, lifting her foot up and smashing it into James', right at the slope where ankle became foot. He howled in pain, momentarily slacking his hold on her and she took advantage. She grabbed the arm and ducked underneath it on his side, twisting it onto his back. He groaned audibly and she giggled in his ear.

"Don't forget, James," she whispered. "I taught you everything you know. You can't take me."

"Is that so?" He grunted, whipping his head back and knocking her in the face. She stumbled backwards, her hands coming up to her busted nose. Glaring at him, she took her hands away from her face, seeing blood spotting on her palms. She unceremoniously dragged the sleeve of her jacket across her nose.

"Charming," James commented.

"Bite me," she threw at him, taking off in a run towards him. She let herself fall to the ground, sliding towards his legs and knocking them away from underneath him. He fell forward onto the hard ground, his grunt echoed along the walls of the cave. Before he could recover, Bella was on her feet and straddled his back, grabbing his hair and pulling his head up.

"Yes, that is so. You can never beat me, James," she hissed, banging his face onto the ground. With a roar, he pushed himself up, twisting her off his back and pinning her down.

"That's where you're wrong, Lady Swan," he cooed disgustingly at her, adding more weight to the force pinning her arms down. He straddled her hips, ignoring her knees hitting his chest.

She shrieked with fury, struggling against him and bucking her hips up to throw him off her but it wasn't working. He was looking down at her with dark eyes. She shuddered with disgust when she recognized lust burning in the grey orbs.

"Careful," he whispered, leaning into her. She twisted her head away from him, gritting her teeth and swallowing down the bile in her throat.

"Ah, such memories," he whispered to her, breathing down her neck.

"Drop dead," she hissed, pulling up her left leg as far as she could. Being flexible paid off when she was barely able to wrap her calf around his neck and, with a move that hurt her muscles and took most of her strength, she pulled him away from him and freed herself.

Within seconds, she had located her guns and was running towards them. A shot, coming from James' gun, rang painfully loud through the cave. She hissed in pain when the hot bullet grazed her arm, leaving a stinging sensation behind and she ducked to the ground, rolling over and grabbing her guns with both hands. By the time she had gotten back to her feet and fired off two rounds aimed at James' chest. But James was already gone, running back through the cave towards the point where they'd all entered.

Bella remained where she was, panting and sweating. Her nose bleed had stained the front of her jacket, just as a big stain was growing due to the injury on her arm. She cradled the arm at the elbow and glared into the darkness where James had just disappeared.

He had grown stronger over the time she hadn't seen him. And quicker. It disturbed her quite a bit. He had grown to a point where he might actually be able to overpower her and the prospect scared her more than she was willing to admit.

Not for the first time, she cursed herself for trusting him. For letting him in her home and even worse, in her heart. Her thoughts were sour and she reflected them back to Edward. Was she making the same mistake with him?

She sighed, walking up to one of the walls of the cave and letting herself slide down until she was sitting. She felt inexplicably tired as the thoughts swirled through her mind.

What if she was? Edward was already a revered Raider, knew everything there was to know about the field and she knew in her heart that his motivations were the same as hers. But the speed in which he seemed to conquer her over was something new to her and to be frank, she didn't like it.

She brushed her lips with the pads of her fingers and remember the way he had softly kissed her out on the beach. He held real power over her, had the ability to shake her off her power with a single look and it scared her. Messed with her. She sighed again, running a hand through her hair.

A gust of wind broke her out of her thoughts and she looked up in time to see that wretched door start to illuminate. The bluish white light seemed brighter this time and it engulfed the door wholly. She slowly got up, watching as the light started swirling until she could see a distinct silhouette appear in the middle.

_Edward. _

Her heart sighed in relief as he became more and more visible until the light died out and there he stood, as though he had never been gone. His eyes landed on hers and he frowned.

"You're bleeding," his voice, stating such an obvious fact, did wonders for Bella's overly troubled mind and she allowed herself to smile in relief.

"Are you okay?" he asked, now frantic with worry and rushing to her side.

"Are you?" she responded.

"Well, I'm a little worried, to be honest," he said, locking his green eyes onto her brown ones. His hands on her arms were warm and her smile widened.

"I'll tell you about it later," she promised him.

"Okay, but let me take care of you first," he conceded, ripping his backpack off and reaching inside for his first aid kit. She gently took off her jacket, revealing a simple white tank top while he prepared to clean the wound on her arm with alcohol.

"This is a bullet wound," he whispered thickly, gingerly holding her upper arm in his much larger hand and she looked up into his eyes. She saw there what her heart already knew. He wasn't going to betray her. Annoy her to hell and back, yes, but never betray her.

"I ran into an old friend," she explained with a shrug.

"The guy who was following us?"

"Yes," she answered. "Trust me, I'll explain later."

Edward nodded, just as he started to dab an alcohol filled cotton ball along the wound on Bella's arm. She bit her lip as the pain started shooting through her arm, determined not to scream out.

"You're a tough cookie," he chuckled. "I can't stand the pain. I scream like a little girl and I ain't afraid to own up to it."

She laughed through her teeth, just as Edward's satellite phone went off.

"Oh yeah," Bella gritted out. "Your panic button went off when you disappeared. I'm afraid you've left the rest of the team in quite a state of panic."

"Uh oh," he sighed, picking up.

He listened to what sounded like Carlisle screaming through the phone with an expression that could only be described as sheepish.

"I'm sorry," he said after a while. "My panic button must've been accidentally triggered."

He listened some more, locking the phone between his ear and his shoulder and wrapped Bella's throbbing arm carefully with bandages and tying a neat knot when he was done.

"Yeah, no, I'm listening," he said. "I don't know where I was, Carlisle. I'll explain everything when we get back, okay? Bella's injured and I need to get her out of here."

Edward rolled his eyes at her as his statement caused another bout of shouting to come through the phone and she suppressed a giggle.

"Not... no... she's..." he rubbed his forehead. "She's fine! She has a graze wound on her arm and her nose had been bleeding, that's all."

"Okay, I promise. We'll see you tomorrow when we get back."

"How's your hand?" Bella asked after he hung up.

"All healed," he grinned, holding it up to show her.

She frowned in confusion, leading her to another question. "Where the hell were you?"

"I honest to god have no idea," he told her, putting his hand on her shoulder and starting to lead her back to where they had come from. "But I know how to get to Yggdrasil."

"You do?" Bella gasped.

"Yep," he smirked. "There's a key and it was broken in half by the vikings. I know where the first half of the key is."

"And the second?" she asked, looking at him sideways.

"If I got the message correctly, the location to the second half of the key is actually engraved onto the first half."

"Oh," Bella sighed, "Okay."

"Come on," Edward said, putting his arm around her shoulder. "Let's get out of here and get some sleep."

**~*TR*~ **

_Black Residence. Seattle, Washington. A few days later. _

"You failed!" Jacob Black shouted, leaning over James in a threatening stance and glaring into his eyes. James, in return, regarded the man in front of him calmly.

"Breathe, boy," he said. "Mind your blood pressure."

"Jake," Bill Black's voice rang loud and clear through the parlor room as he walked inside, fiddling with the gold cuff link on his expensive shirt's sleeve. "Calm yourself."

Jake continued to glare at the raider for a few more seconds before backing off with a push and walking over to an expensive looking antique cabinet to pour himself a drink. Bill Black smiled heartily at James.

"How are you, James?" he asked cordially with a tip of his head. "Want a drink."

"No thank you," James replied politely. "And I'm well."

"Good, good," Bill said with a satisfied nod. "I need my raider in a good condition."

James smirked.

"So, what's your plan now?" Bill asked. "A full attack? Or are you going for a sneakier approach."

"I know Lady Swan," James said, tucking his leg up to rest it on the knee of his other leg. He started to tap his boot with his fingers. "She'll be expecting a direct attack on her and her property."

"So, what do you suggest?"

"We follow her and her friend," James mused out loud. "We follow them, learn what they learn and let them find Yggdrasil."

Bill Black started nodding. "Once there, we strike," James continued. "And we strike hard."

"Are you suggesting that we let them do the dirty work only to be killed in the end?" Bill asked with a wicked grin.

"Yes," James answered, with a curt nod.

"I like it," Bill said. "I like it a lot."

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><p><strong>As always, my special thanks goes out to my beta and friend Smmiskimen. She has a million things going on but still manages to find the time to help me out. Thank you Superwoman, I love you! <strong>

**I apologize for the late update. As most of you might know, I recently made the epic (insane) move from Chicago to Belgium and it hasn't been easy since then. **

**If you liked this chapter, please leave a review. **

**Kisses from Pixie! **


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Twilight and the Tomb Raider franchise belong to their respective owners. Which is certainly not me. I just play with it. **

**AN at the bottom**

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><p>The sun was setting over the rough sea when Bella and Edward finally made it out of the caves. They had gotten lost inside a few times, taking wrong turns or circling back to the mystical door. It cost the two several hours. Bella had taken that time to tell him about James and how he betrayed her, opting to leave out the bit where they'd been lovers.<p>

In turn, Edward was noticeably tired, reeling from what had happened to himself. He tried telling her what he had experienced but it seemed to confuse her more than it did him.

After the blue light had enveloped him, he felt as though he had been transported to a different place, making his head spin painfully. There, he had seen flashing images of ancient medieval buildings, a canal and hidden tunnels under a city. The tunnels would lead to a chamber in which part of the key to Yggdrasil would be hidden. The flashes were quick and painfully bright, marking them on his corneas like stamps. It left him with a stinging headache. Something had touched him and he had jumped away from it, his injured hand burning and throbbing. When the pain stopped, the wound on his hand was gone, leaving flawless skin behind, free of the scars he had accumulated over the years.

He was then brought back to the caves where he had found Bella.

Now, as they were stepping into the fading sunlight, the two were quiet. Both having told their stories, they settled into a companionable silence. They walked slowly down the rugged beach, heads down, weary of the long and troubling day they'd had. Their climbing gear was waiting for them at the spot they had landed hours ago, the ropes swaying in the wind.

The climb up was methodical, done with ease courtesy of years of training and agility. But what was waiting for them at the top of the cliff, neither one of them expected.

Peitre's lifeless body was lying face down in a puddle of her own blood.

Edward walked over to her, pushing her hair away from the neck and uncovering a distinct bullet wound.

"Son of a bitch," he spat.

"James," Bella said, her voice tight with anger, looking straight into Edward's eyes which had a golden hue because of the setting sun. He nodded, looking back down at Peitre.

"It's a mercy shot," he whispered.

"Bullocks," Bella bit back. "He's just too big of a coward to look his victims in the eyes before he kills them."

Edward frowned, bringing his hand up to rub his throbbing forehead. Bella noticed the action, along with the tightening of his eyes as he did so. She knew he had a massive headache but was unsure what to do. Let him be or take control and make sure he rested before they returned to England.

She decided on the first.

"We should go," she told him and he nodded, getting up in one fluent movement. The walk back to the car was quiet again and Bella took the time to shake off her anger. It was a tragedy what happened to Peitre and her coven but she felt as though it was inevitable. Besides, it was almost merciful that she'd perish so close after her husband did. Save her the agony.

She took a deep breath, stopping to look back at the cliff. She could swear she saw Peitre standing there for just a blink of an eye but then it was gone and she shook her head, blaming what she had seen on fatigue and lack of food. Edward, who hadn't stopped walking, realized Bella had fallen back and stopped to turn to her. Their eyes met for a few seconds, silently asking each other if they were okay. They didn't answer each other.

When they reached the car, Edward silently took dominance and got behind the wheel. Bella let him, too tired to fight him on it although it was out of character for her. She didn't question it this time, just went with it.

They left the tragic village behind, driving down muddy back roads and passing other towns on their way until Edward rubbed his head again.

"Your head," Bella said. "How bad is it?"

"It's okay," he answered automatically.

"You're lying to me."

He sighed, putting his hand back on the wheel and squinting into the growing darkness. "It's bad."

Worse than Bella imagined. His head was pounding with every beat of his heart, growing in intensity as time passed by. He felt sick to his stomach, his neck was tight as a coil and the light of the headlights hurt his eyes. He didn't want to admit it to her, but he was having a massive migraine attack.

"There should be an inn at the next town over," she hinted and he briefly looked over to her.

"You look tired," he told her.

"I am," she admitted. "Very tired, and you can't drive all the way to Dublin. We'll stay at the inn, rest and go home tomorrow."

"Okay," Edward whispered.

The inn was pretty easy to find as signs along the road led the way right to it. It was small and homey, with a keeper that was downright cliché. He was large and fat, with a general air of good nature around him as he happily checked the two raiders into the one room he had available. The only other room was already occupied by the town's drunk, sleeping off the bender he'd been on the last few days.

Bella was polite as the keeper brought her bag up to the room, letting Edward carry his own bag and making him cringe in pain every time the large man opened his mouth on a volume that was just too damn loud.

The room was bigger than they expected but still too small for two people to move comfortably. It held a fairly large bed with fluffy down comforters and big, soft pillows. There was a desk sitting against the wall past the bed, with a small light on it and a notepad with a pen. A mahogany dresser was wedged into the corner next to the door and that was all the furniture the room allowed. There was barely any room to walk past the bed to the desk.

Bella thanked the keeper, tipping him handsomely and smiling politely as he closed the door behind him.

"I'll have the wife bring up some good food," he assured her with a booming laugh, making Edward swear under his breath. "You look like you could use it."

"Thank you again," Bella replied, keeping the polite smile on her face. Edward ungraciously sat down on the bed, clutching his head.

"I don't care what you bring up, as long as you bring lots of painkillers up with it," he grumbled, causing the keeper to laugh again.

"Rough day, eh lad?" His voice made Edward cringe in pain.

"You could say that."

"I'll have the wife make you her special tea! It'll cure that head of yours nice and quick!"

With that said, the man closed the door behind him with a resounding whack that was multiplied dramatically in Edward's head.

"Lay back," Bella ordered him, patting the pillow and Edward let himself fall mindlessly, clutching his head.

"So," she said. "A migraine is called nothing more than 'bad headache' in your mind?"

"It _is _a bad headache," he protested as she roughly picked up his legs and placed them on the bed.

"No, a bad headache is uncomfortable but you can function. A migraine knocks even the strongest man down, you fool."

"Stop shouting."

"I'm not shouting, you stubborn oaf," she retorted, but lowered her voice anyway. "You should've told me."

Edward didn't say anything, just grunted and kicked off his shoes. He got comfortable on the bed and Bella sat in the desk chair, watching him as he quickly dozed off to sleep. This was the time in which she observed him completely, without interruption.

His face was set in a pained frown, even as he slept, and his shoulders were tense. His hand was balled into a fist on his sternum and this was the first time she noticed there was a delicate golden chain around his neck, disappearing into his shirt. It almost seemed as though he was clutching it through his shirt. It intrigued her but went on with her observation.

His body, she recognized, was poised to strike at all times. Even in sleep he was ready to fight, like a good raider should be. She kicked off her shoes and placed her legs on the bed, crossing her arms around her chest. She allowed her eyes to close for a second.

She woke up an hour later from a sharp knock on the door. Edward shot up from the bed immediately, ready for a fight.

Another knock sounded, along with a decidedly female voice calling out that she had food. Edward rubbed his eyes and his forehead, shaking off the tension as he opened the door. The woman on the other side of the door smiled warmly at him as she passed him with a big tray. There were two steaming plates of mashed potatoes, big pieces of juicy pork and vegetables. Bella and Edward's respective stomachs immediately started rumbling.

"My goodness, child," the woman said, looking at Edward. "You look like you've been to hell and back."

"Bad day," Edward replied, smiling through his squinted eyes.

"Aye," the woman tutted. She looked over at Bella, observing the state of her guest and noticing the bloodstains on her clothes. It made Bella uncomfortable enough for her royal façade to kick in.

"I won't ask," the woman told them sternly. "But I'll have you know that I won't tolerate trouble here."

Bella nodded in understanding.

"Now, you may leave your dirty clothes by the door and I'll wash them for you. As for you," she said, turning to Edward. "I made you herbal tea to help with your headache. It tastes horrific but it works so drink it."

"Thanks," the two muttered in unison and Edward took the tray from her. She left without another word.

They ate in silence. The only sounds coming from the room were Edward's groans of disgust every time he drank from his tea.

"I swear, this tastes like horse pee mixed with cow shit," he complained after he drained the last of it.

"Ugh, Edward, I'm eating," was Bella's response. He shot her an apologetic grin and went back to his food. His headache gradually and swiftly lessened and by the time he was done eating he felt a million times better. He scooted back until his back was against the headboard of the bed, placing his plate somewhere next to him and looked at Bella.

She was back in her desk chair, eating the last of her meal, focusing entirely on the plate.

Except she wasn't, silently she was back to observing him and she felt the inexplicable sense of wanting to know more about him. Before it dissipated, she broke the silence with an almost casual sounding, "So tell me a bit more about your team?"

Edward took a breath, dropping his gaze from her and out the window. "Uhm," he started. "Well, Emmett and Alice are actually my cousins from my father's side. We all grew up on the same property in Washington.

"Carlisle was my parents' good friend and physician. When they passed, he took to taking care of us and he's never left since."

In her mind, Bella noticed the similarities between Carlisle and Esme. Both staying to take up a kind of parental role. It made her like Carlisle more than she already did.

"If you don't mind me asking," she whispered, looking up into his eyes. "How did your parents come to pass?"

Edward looked at her for a moment, wondering if he wanted her to know but decided to open up to her. There was something about her, something enticing yet comfortable, that made him want to forge a true bond. Never mind that just a few days ago they had both sworn not to get personally involved, to just do the job and move on. A memory flashed across his mind, of cold sea wind and soft lips crowned by passionate brown eyes.

However, Bella's earthy colors were replaced by luscious strawberry blond locks and loving bluish grey eyes as his memory took him to times before true darkness hit his heart. He shut down immediately, absentmindedly stroking the delicate locket under his shirt.

Bella cocked her head, confused as she saw the change come to his face and posture. In kind, her own defense mechanism was triggered and the mood in the room changed from comfortable to cold. It was clear as day that he didn't plan on including her and she briefly kicked herself for believing he would.

"Never mind," she said, too politely. "It was not my intent to pry."

Edward, who instantly mourned the loss of connection, sighed when she got up, picked up her bag and disappeared through the bathroom door next to the desk.

Frustrated with himself, he fished out his phone and called the manor. He told Esme, who had answered the phone, that they were spending the night in a hotel before coming back tomorrow and briefly wallowed in her kind responses. He vowed to pick up a bunch of flowers for the kind-hearted woman on the way back.

He got up from the bed, grabbed his bag and took out a clean shirt and soft track pants which would double as sleep pants for the night; he'd shower in the morning. Once he had changed, he slid in between the thick, soft covers. He made sure he took up the space he needed close to the edge of the bed and flicked the covers open on the side of the bed that was intended for Bella.

He waited for the shower to turn off before closing his eyes, cursing his memory for ruining a good moment, and closed his eyes. When she got out of the bathroom, he could sense her hesitation for a good few minutes. Pretending to be asleep, he turned away from her in the hopes of creating a sense of space and it must have worked because the next thing he felt was her weight dipping the bed on the other side.

_She smells good. _He thought and he turned back around to her. She was facing away from him, her shoulders rigid and her back tense underneath the big shirt she was wearing.

He took a deep breath as he looked at how her chestnut hair cascaded over the pillow.

"My father," he started, taking another deep breath as he registered her surprise. "He died out on a case. My mother died a few months later of a broken heart."

He swallowed past the lump in his throat as Bella cautiously turned around. "Bill Black killed him."

"I'm so sorry," came her whispered response.

He looked into her eyes and watched how she briefly turned into the woman with the blond hair.

"And then two years ago," his voice broke, his hand clutching the locket. "His son murdered my fiancé."

**~*TR*~ **

Music was blaring from the training room in Swan Manor. The raider inside was lost inside the angry beats and the frustrated lyrics pounding in his head. Edward's fists were getting sore from his overly vigorous exercise. After they returned from Ireland, he had secluded himself, opting to claim space for himself to get his mind straightened out.

Bella's response to him opening up to her had left him with mixed emotions. It had been a sweet little gesture, just a quick soft kiss on his forehead, but the impact had been huge. He recognized the tugging of his heart as she did it and guilt set in immediately. To whom, he wasn't sure.

The punching bag swinging in front of him was taking the brunt of it. In the back of his mind he knew that he'd been going at it for hours and that he should stop, but as flashes of the day before grew stronger in his mind, so did the force he put behind his fists.

_Gerard. _Left hook.  
><em>Peitre. <em>Straight punch.  
><em>Stubborn witches and flying bullets. <em>Left right combo.

_Bella… _he took a step back, letting his hands fall to his side and he stared up at the high ceiling. He had no idea how to deal with how he responded to her. That morning, he woke up a good hour before she did. Sometime during their sleep, they had moved closer together resulting in her head on his chest and his arms protectively around her. Waking up to find himself in that position and the way his body was humming from the contact had freaked him out a little. Not wanting things to be more awkward, he decided to leave the bed before she woke up. He could only imagine her reaction if she knew how intimately they had slept.

"Edward?" Esme's friendly voice came from the door opening. He looked over at her and smiled, wiping the sweat from his face with the back of his bandaged hand.

"You haven't eaten yet," she reminded him with a smile before leaving. He sighed, fidgeting with the bandages around his hand and looked around the room. Another sigh escaped his chest and he left, leaving his frustration behind. Upstairs in his room, he quickly showered and changed into a pair of jeans and a short-sleeved t-shirt, showing off the half sleeve tattooed on his arm. He briefly wondered how the other team would respond to it since neither of them, not even Bella, had seen his tattoos before but the thought was gone as quickly as it came up and he made his way back downstairs and into the kitchen.

The room was rich with the smells of Esme's cooking. The woman responsible for it was facing away from him, draining spaghetti and humming under her breath. Bella was there too, sitting at the bar and reading an ancient looking book while absent-mindedly eating off her plate.

"Mind if I join you?" he announced his presence, making Esme turn around with a smile and Bella look up at him.

"No, no," Esme gushed. "Of course not! Come, sit, eat!"

He obliged with a chuckle, sending a smile at Bella which she returned, much to his relief.

"What're you reading?" he asked, craning his neck to see the pages of the book were filled with runic scripts.

"Just doing some research," she answered with a gentle voice which caused a wave of warmth to spread out through his chest. With that said, she gave him another of her rare smiles and went back to reading and eating.

He thanked Esme when she put a plate of mouthwatering spaghetti in front of him and he dug in, silently letting his mind run away with thoughts about the woman next to him. She was an enigma to him; on one hand open and inviting, on the other closed off and frustratingly hard to get to. But when she looked at him, _really _looked at him, he couldn't deny that she had a pull on him stronger than he'd ever felt before. She made him feel calm and drove him crazy all at the same time. It was impossible for him to forget their kiss on the beach the other day, and the promise he had silently made her to make up for the rude way he ended it.

He wondered how she'd respond if he were to try and kiss her right now.

It was a bittersweet feeling. He was undeniably attracted to her and he couldn't wait to see if he could bring back that moment on the beach. However, with each passing thought of her lips on his, there was a small voice in the back of his head that spoke of a different woman. Gloriously beautiful, just like Bella, but in such a contrasting way.

Tanya had been his entire world. Kind, caring, funny, gorgeous. He was hers and she was his. It'd been that way for six glorious years before she was so brutally taken away from him.

He couldn't help compare her to Bella as he gazed at her profile in the cozy lit kitchen. Where Bella was a stark contrast between dark and light, with her chocolate hair and ivory skin, Tanya had been the very essence of warmth. Sun kissed skin, a dusting of adorable freckles on her nose, warm grey-blue eyes and long flowing strawberry curls.

But Bella was just as stunning in her own right. Statuesque and powerful, she stood in a league of her own. Her beauty was more exotic and enticing, as opposed to Tanya's innocence. While Edward was sure that Bella didn't realize it, the look in her eyes had the power to make him want to kneel down before her. There were times where she looked at him and it took all he had to not throw her against a wall and have his very wicked way with her.

Where Tanya had played on his protective, caring side, Bella enticed a completely different side from him. He dared even think a more equally leveled side. He didn't need to protect or care for her. She didn't _need _him and that was also part of his attraction to her.

He let out a deep breath, realizing that in the chaos of his thoughts he'd somehow managed to empty his plate without slobbering all over the kitchen. He had also somehow missed Esme leaving the kitchen and he briefly felt guilty for not wishing her a good night. He looked around, only to feel the prickle of Bella's eyes on the side of his face.

He gave her silent permission and space to observe him as he gazed out the dark window. Her gaze didn't waver and after a few moments, he met her eyes with his own. Forest green and chocolate brown collided in a moment of mutual openness where they both allowed the other to truly look into their souls.

What he saw there made his heart thump. What she saw in his eyes was a vulnerability that hadn't been there before.

"Bella," he broke the silence, clearing his throat. She didn't answer but silently urged him to go on.

He took a breath and spoke again: "On the beach…"

A wariness came into her eyes, an instinctive defense mechanism but he wouldn't let her stop him from what he was about to say.

"I'm sorry," he started, holding her gaze. "I shouldn't have left you hanging."

"Its okay, Edward," she said, gently closing their connection and Edward mourned the loss of it. "It's better that way."

He nodded, frowning in disagreement as he glared down on the counter.

"Let's just finish the job and try not to get killed," she continued, putting her hand on his shoulder as she got up. "It's better if we don't blur our concentration."

"Yeah," he rasped, though he still disagreed with what she was saying. She leaned in to gift him with a soft, compelling kiss on his cheek and he swore she lingered over his skin longer than she should have.

She retreated and left the kitchen so he wouldn't see that for the first time in a long time, she had allowed a man to truly touch her soul. Leaving him behind in her kitchen, she gave his treacherous heart enough space to speak to him.

As he sat there, feeling a chill spread out throughout his body; his heart spoke to him, disguised as Tanya's voice. _You can't love her, Edward. Not if you love me. Would you really dishonor my death in such a way? _

In the cozy, warm kitchen, he let his head fall into his hand and he cried. He truly cried for the loss of his angel but mostly he cried for the loss of his ability to carelessly love again.

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><p><strong>So, poor Edward :-( <strong>

**A thousand apologies for the late update but thanks to everyone who has the patience to stick it out with me. **

**A lot of love to my sweet beta Smmiskimen and my prereader Lorraine. Thanks girls! **

**See you next time. **


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